Captain of the Bonnibelle
by Neonculr
Summary: It all started with her. An all-female pirate crew, the engagement, the accident... It's been four years now, and I'm okay. I have a new crew and I'm happy. But the Sirius had to come and mess it all up. I've met them before, and they think they know me - what's wrong what's wrong- If you stop asking, nothing. Stop saying you know something about me. I'm hiding more than you think.
1. Chapter 1

On a calm day in late spring, I sat in my dining room with my feet propped up on the table, relaxing as I usually did as my crew was cleaning up the deck. Slight yelling and a loud crash pulled me out of my relaxed state, and I knew something had definitely gone wrong. I had been expecting it for several weeks, but now that it happened, I needed to know exactly what was going on.

Calmly, I opened the door to the deck from the dining room and saw my crew in a comical freeze frame. My first mate had the newest member by the collar, his fist raised and ready to hit the rookie for what I assumed to be a second time. The others were scattered around, scared, and they knew they wouldn't be able to stop my first mate doing what he was going to do.

"Well, what happened here?"

My mates hastily lined up before me, hanging their heads in only what I could describe as shame.

Upon seeing me my first mate released our new deckhand, who shot his assailant a glare.

"Well, what happened here?" I asked, my voice taking on a low, growling tone. The deck was a mess. Cargo boxes were everywhere, untied and littering the deck. Dirt and dust shone in the sunlight, making it look like it hadn't ever been mopped.

My crew had lined up, and now they shuffled awkwardly in their shoes. I'm sure they were trying to think of an excuse.

"Can one of you men tell me why my deck isn't deck done and mopped?"

"Ya see ma'am, there was a bit of a disagreement..." My first mate said.

I jammed my hands in my pockets, eying him as I walked onto the deck and in front of my crew members. A broken cargo box revealed itself out of the corner if my eye, and I started to get mad.

My foot slammed hard on the deck, causing most of my crew members to jump.

"I want to know what happened, and I want to know now." I snarled.

They were quiet, clenching their teeth and sweating. They all knew I was mad, and they were all trying to think of something that wouldn't make it worse. My eye caught my newest member, the rookie, glaring at me.

"Since you were the one who got attacked, why don't you tell me what happened?" I asked, eyeballing his bruising cheek.

"Tch." He grumbled, crossing his arms.

"What, did they cut out your tongue? Tell me what's wrong." I said, leaning in closer to him.

The kid glared at me, saying, "It ain't none of your business."

My crew stiffened as a laugh fell over the deck, and I replied, "Listen here kid, this is my ship. Everything that happens on this ship is my business."

"I don't got to listen to you, you're a woman. I'm a man, so that means you have to listen to me."

"Oh?" I replied, laughing, "You want to say that to the second big bad woman who saved you?"

The kid backed down, clenching his teeth and scowling.

I glanced over at my first mate and sighed. "I've told you this before. Instead of fighting, just come to me about it. We all know that I'm the best-fit person here to deal with sexists." My eyes flicked back over to the rookie, who wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

"So, Mr. Sexist, I bet you think women are unfit to be in the sea?" I asked.

"Course I do. Women are weak." He replied.

I raised my eyebrows and shrugged. "You think so? Well then, why don't you fight me?"

He looked confused. "What?"

"Fight me. If you win, I'll get off the ship and you can be captain." I replied, jamming my hands in my pockets.

"I'll take ya up on that offer." He replied, cracking his knuckles and smiling.

My mates all snickered, having seen this before. I was distracted, laughing with them, when without warning the rookie threw a punch at me. I sidestepped with ease, catching the rookie off guard. Again his fist raced towards my face, so I ducked under it and moved behind him. He spun, still aiming for my face, and I took another sidestep.

As things progressed this way the rookie started putting more and more force into his punches, almost falling when he lunged forward. This tired him out, and soon he was dripping with sweat. I had gotten a bit bored, so when I got behind him I kicked him in the butt. He staggered forward a little but be quickly returned with a frustration filled punch. I stepped back, and as his body flew forward I pulled my leg up and drove my heel into his back.

His stomach hit the deck and he lost his breath, letting out a giant wheeze and heavy panting following.

I blew a strand of hair out of my face and turned away from him, hands still jammed in my pockets and said, "I want the deck done before high noon. We have things to do today, so no dilly-dallying!"

"Yes, ma'am!" My crew exclaimed.

They quickly set to work, gathering rope to tie down the boxes and mops to clean the deck. I heard a slight shuffling behind me and looked over my shoulder at the rookie. He was struggling to get up, and he looked both confused and angry. It brought back memories.

I held my hand out to him and said, "C'mon Rookie, there's work to do."

He looked at my hand, and then up at me. "Yer not mad?"

"There's nothing for me to be mad about." I replied, pulling him to his feet.

"I don't get it... I challenged ya and said bad things about ya, so why aren't ya mad at me?"

I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, "Listen here lad, as long as my mates are taken care of, my ship is clean, and there's treasure to look for, I'm fine. Now get to work!"

He smiled. "Yes, ma'am!"

I shook my head as he enthusiastically started cleaning the deck, and I went back to my study.

Later that night I was standing beside the dining room door, listening in on my mates' conversation.

"Hey, shouldn't Cap'n be here? Isn't she usually in here first?" My navigator Jacob asked.

Jacob was a very friendly young man. He was the youngest until the rookie joined, at the age of twenty-one. He's been on my ship since he was nineteen, and he's opened up so much. He has straight orange hair reaching down to his shoulders, and big brown eyes. He loved to sew, and after fights, he was eager to mend our clothes. I thought it was cute. He was a tall man, reaching six feet in height. It annoyed me that I had to look up to him, but at the same time, it was funny because I was able to boss him around.

"She's probably still in 'er study. I went in there earlier and there was paper everywhere." Michael, the doctor of the ship said.

Michael, better known as Mike, was also very tall and muscular. He's an inch taller than Jacob, and five inches taller than I am. At age twenty-four he joined us, and he's been here for two years. His black hair was short but didn't qualify as a buzz cut. He was a bit goofy, and his gap-toothed smile would always lighten up the ship. Oftentimes people are intimidated by his appearance, but really he's just a sweetheart with a soft spot for pretty faces.

"Is she always like that? I don't see her out on the deck or around the ship very much..." The rookie asked.

Ah, the rookie. His name was Tyler, and he really is a funny little boy. He's only eighteen, but he's still taller than I am at five feet ten inches tall. The past week he's been on the ship was like hell. I'm sure it's because he didn't like a woman as his captain, but he was extremely rude and uncooperative. But, I know he's not really that way. I look forward to finding out more about him.

"Yeah."

That must've been Ian, my chef. He joined the ship three years ago at age twenty-one, and I'd learned he's a man of few words. He had white, shaggy hair and blue eyes, and reached five feet eleven inches tall. Sometimes he could seem cold with his lack of emotion, but he's really very sweet. He'd go out of his way to do things for his mates, and has a pure heart. But, he didn't like strangers much. He's a bit cold towards Tyler, but I hoped one day he'd warm up to him.

"I'm gonna go check on er."

Oh, Benny! He's my first mate and had been on the ship for four years. At twenty-five, he left another crew and joined me, and we'd been on the Bonnibelle ever since. He's the tallest on the ship, towering over me at six foot four. His strength is a force to be reckoned with, but in cold weather, he was like a big baby. He had dark skin and dreadlocks that reached down to his shoulders, but he often tied a bandana around the top of his head to keep them out of his face.

Just then I pushed the doors open and sat in my chair, leaning back and resting my feet on the table. I let out a groan and said, "I want something sweet."

Ian disappeared into the kitchen and came back moments later, carrying some freshly made chocolate covered strawberries.

"Ah, thanks." I said, plucking the biggest one off the plate. "Good thing we found some strawberries at the last port, huh?"

Ian nodded. He did have a weakness for strawberries.

"Cap'n, there's going to be a lot of wind tonight. Do you want to put up the sails?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, but that can wait 'til after dinner. There's something I need to tell you all."

"Did something happen?" Ben asked, suddenly alert.

"Calm down, Benny. I found out about a place that's rumored to have the greatest treasure of all time. I think it's somewhere past the Mysterious Islands."

"But Cap'n, were over two months away from the Mysterious Islands."

"I know. That's why tomorrow, we're changing course." I said, placing my elbows on the table.

"What?"

"I found out about a current called the Atlantic Expressway that leads straight to the islands. It'll get us there in a month's time."

"Is there really such thing as a current that can take a ship that far in a month?" Mike asked.

"That's why my study is so messy. I've been researching it for over three weeks. It's real alright."

"Don't you think with something like that we'll run into someone?"

I looked over at Benny, and he had a stern look on his face.

"If there are other people on the pass, we'll just have to be careful. I'll stay out of sight, and if it's a navy ship we just have to act as a cargo ship." I replied. "You know I don't fight people for the fun of it."

He sighed. "I guess there's nothin I can do then."

"Alright. Jacob, before ya go to bed set the course for the northeast. We'll go from there in the morning."

"Aye."

The next morning we were about a half a mile from the current, and the sun was shining brightly. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the salty sea air smelled strangely new. It was invigorating.

"Something good is gonna happen today, I can feel it!" I exclaimed, setting my foot on the railing.

"Cap'n! There's a ship comin from the east!" Mike exclaimed.

I climbed up to the crow's nest and took a look through the telescope, catching sight of the ship about a mile away. Another telescope stared back at me, and by the looks of it, so was another pirate.

"So, there's another pirate crew heading for the islands… Men! Be prepared for anything! Another pirate crew approaching' from behind!"

"Aye!"

The other crew caught up with us quickly. I had expected them to pass, but instead, they lined their ship up with ours. I stayed hidden in the crow's nest, looking down at the crew and watching the scene unfold.

"Permission to come aboard?" Called the other ship's navigator.

Ben looked up at me and I nodded.

"Granted!" He called back.

A few men swung onto my ship, and I started sizing them up. I'm sure I could take them. One man in particular irked me, and I felt like I had seen him somewhere before.

"This is a fine ship." I heard him say.

What are these guys planning…?

"Huh? I thought I counted six. There was a blonde person on the ship."

Hell.

I was about to stand up, but Ben had already taken action. "Ya probably counted Jacob twice. He moves around a lot."

"Aye. He could be mistaken fer a blonde at a distance."

That was close.

"Who's the captain of the ship?" he asked.

"I am." Benny replied.

"Nice to meet ya. My name is Captain Morgan."

Morgan… Morgan… Pirate King Morgan!?

Instantly I began recognizing his crew. The one who used the telescope was Russell, and he was a dual swordsman. The other one beside Morgan was Eduardo, with a bad attitude and a deadly shot.

I stood up on the railing of the crow's nest, causing my shadow to stretch across the deck. They all looked up at me, squinting at the sun behind me, and with one swift movement, I was flying through the air.

"Cap'n!" My crew exclaimed.

My hands grabbed a rope and I swung past them, flying past the main mast and wrapping around it. I released the rope the second time around, landing between the Sirius Pirates and my own crew.

"Cap'n, what are you-!?"

I stuck out my hand to Morgan and said, "My name is Captain Jones. Nice to meet you, Pirate King."

He laughed hardily and took my hand, exchanging a firm handshake. "This is interesting! You say yer the captain?"

"Yes, sir. This has been my ship for the last eight years."

"I thought I recognized this ship. I guess not, since it had an all-female crew."

I paused, my breath getting stuck in my throat as I realized I'd just made a deadly mistake.

"Cap'n?" Benny asked, putting his hand on my shoulder. "What's he talkin' about?"

* * *

"Captain! There's a ship coming our way!" My mate yelled.

"Quick, prepare for anything!" I yelled, pulling my hair up.

"Aye!"

The ship lined up to ours, and my girls all stood behind me with weapons ready.

"Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted!"

Several pirates swung over on my ship, and one older man seemed a bit surprised.

"Well, I've never seen a female pirate group before."

"Why are you here?" I snarled.

He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. "Ya see, my crew and I got mixed up in a storm. We lost a couple of crew mates, and we were wondering if they might have ended up around here."

My shoulders relaxed, and I called for one of my mates to fetch a couple lost sailors we'd stumbled upon. "Oh! Maya, go fetch those men we found the other day! They may belong to this crew!"

"Aye, Cap'n."

"So you have seen them?"

"Yeah, we found them floating in the ocean a couple days ago. I'm glad we found them when we did because they were heading for Shark's Cove."

"Captain!"

I turned my head and saw a young, orange haired boy running from the direction of the rooms towards the group. A man with a bandana followed quietly and calmly after him.

"Thomas! Nathan! Good to see you're alright." He said.

"You sure took your time getting here." Nathan said grumpily.

"Come on Nathan, don't be angry! We had to search all the islands around here!"

I giggled a bit. "I'm happy you found them. Just please, be more careful in the future. Someone may not always be around like this time."

The captain snapped his fingers. "Aye! And to thank you fer taking care of them, you can have this!"

He pulled a big, sapphire ring from his pocket and slid it on my finger.

"Oh, you don't have to do this. I just did what anyone would do."

He stopped me from taking it off my finger and said, "Count it as a token of my appreciation. And, you can keep it to remember me by!"

"What?"

Just after that, he had gotten back on his ship, and before I could speak up again he was already sailing away.

"Don't forget about me now!" He yelled.

Then, he was gone.

* * *

I rubbed the sapphire ring, which now only fit on my pinky and said, "It's nothing, Benny. He's spewing nonsense."

"Cap'n?" Benny said, holding my shoulder a little bit tighter.

"It's nothing." I said, slapping his hand away. "I'm telling you, drop it."

He looked hurt.

Just then, three more men swung over onto my ship.

"Captain, you were taking a while so we came to see if everything was alright." A familiar orange haired boy said.

"Thomas?" I said, intending for it to be under my breath but coming out in a hushed whisper.

The orange haired turned to me, and his eyes grew wide. "Anna! What are you doing here? Nathan, look! It's Anna!"

"Anna? Who's Anna?" Tyler asked.

I looked to my crew, the wheels turning in my head as I tried to think. When an idea popped into my head, I went with it just to see where it could lead. "Men, would you like to join us for dinner?" I asked, looking at the Sirius captain.

My men and the Sirius exchanged glances, and I wondered just how insane I was for inviting my past into my dining room.


	2. Chapter 2

"So Pirate King, what brings you to this area?" I asked.

"Well, we were looking for a fast way to get to the Mysterious Islands, and since Moldor is on the way we'd have time to hit the port." His doctor, Christopher, said.

"The Mysterious Islands are a bit off from Moldor, aren't they?" Jacob asked.

"There's a side current that strays off a little. If they take that then they'll hit Moldor, but they'd have to sail normally from there to get to the Islands." I replied.

I then noticed one of my seats was open, which was strange considering we had more company than usual. After a quick scan of faces, I sighed. "Ian!"

There was a bang in the kitchen.

"Oh, hell," I muttered, standing up and walking into the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

Ian was sulking in his corner, keeping his eyes either on the floor or to the side. His body had curled itself into a little ball, in an almost childlike gesture. He was very shy, and I had expected this from him, but not on such a large scale.

"Ian, come out to the dining room." I said gently.

He turned his head away from me, puffing out his lips and tracing the floor with his fingertip. He held his legs with one hand and leaned against the wall of the kitchen, keeping himself up on his toes.

He's scared…

I held out my hand to him and said, "I'll be next to you the whole time. I promise you won't get hurt."

Ian finally looked at me, and after shyly taking my hand he stood up and followed me.

{...}

I had struck up a conversation with Benjamin, and he talked to me about how he had no idea Miss Anna had an all-female crew at one point. He also told me about how he had never seen her smile, and I found it strange.

"When I was on her ship, I don't remember a time when she wasn't smiling."

Benjamin seemed a bit upset by that, and he was about to say something when Miss Anna came back from the kitchen. She was holding hands with a white haired man, and continued to do so even after they sat down.

Benjamin looked away from them in a huff and changed the subject to something else.

{...}

We had brought out dinner and everyone started to eat, having fun chatting with whoever they had been seated next to. I was worried about Jacob who usually hated other pirates, but he seemed to be enjoying himself while talking to Nathan.

Tyler was talking to Russell, and I could only anticipate a fight. I'd heard that Russell was an egoist who declared himself as the best, and Tyler seemed to be a bit of a hothead. To make it worse, they were both dual swordsmen.

Mike had taken up medical talk with Christopher, and I didn't bother to try and follow the conversation when medical terms flowed into use.

Captain Morgan had bugged Ian enough to start getting responses out of him, but I could tell he wasn't going to open up very much. The way he was squeezing my hand told me that he really didn't want to talk to anyone.

I had gotten stuck talking to Eduardo, and he was as conceited as I'd imagined. If one got used to his harsh way of speaking and got past the mixed signals he might be a good person, but otherwise, I'd think he's just a dick.

"I'm gonna bring out some booze." I said, standing up from the table.

"I'll go with ya." Benny said, starting to stand up.

"It's fine. Just stay here." I replied. I was about to walk away when I was pulled back by something.

Ian's hand was holding mine tightly, and he refused to make eye contact with me.

My face softened and I sighed again. "I'll be right back. If you get scared you can come out and help me, but I need you to at least try. Okay?" I whispered to him.

Ian pursed his lips but after a couple of seconds he gave a slight nod and released my hand.

"Benny, when I get back help Ian bring the cups."

"Yes'm."

'The hell? What's he so mad about?' I wondered. I shook it off and headed for the warehouse.

{...}

The door closed and there was a bit of an awkward silence. A couple seconds passed, and Benjamin spoke up.

"Ian, what did Cap'n say to you?"

All eyes turned to the white-haired man, who simply glared back at Benjamin. "Nothing." He hissed.

Ben looked back at him, jaw set, and bit back his urge to shout. "If it's something yer tryin to keep a secret, it's not workin very well."

Ian looked back at him like he was stupid. "Nothing's goin on." He said sternly.

The air in the room was tense, and the Sirius pirates couldn't help but feel as if they were intruding on another crews affairs. It was extremely awkward, but they couldn't do anything about it. Their captain was quite interested in the current situation and watched the scene play out with his own liquor in one hand and a smile on his face.

"Don't lie to me. What's going on between you two? Every time we go to a port or have visitors on the ship, yer so damn touchy-feely with 'er. If somethin's goin on, just say it."

The Bonnibelle crew was shocked. They had never seen Ben get so angry, or express any kind of frustration in front of strangers.

Ian glared at Ben. "Nothing."

Benjamin was getting mad; so mad that his fists shook and his knuckles turned white. Everyone quickly realized he was about to start screaming.

"Um, Benjamin… Do you like Miss Anna?" Thomas asked timidly.

All eyes turned to Ben, focusing intently and anticipating his answer.

"…I-"

"-off me!"

A body flew through the dining room doors, slamming against the opposite wall and falling in a heap on the floor. Captain Jones came in right after with an angry look on her face and a barrel of booze under one arm.

"God, can't a woman get a keg of booze on her own ship without getting hit on?" She muttered, setting the keg down on the table. "Mike, throw him back on his ship and send em off. Ben, do me a favor and take care of the rest of their crew. Careful of the gorilla woman."

"Gorilla woman? You mean-!?" Russell started.

"Fuzzy! Help me!" The body exclaimed, somehow recovering and jumping on the table.

Captain Jones had somehow gotten an even scarier look on her face, and with pure rage in her voice, she screamed, "Get your damn feet off my table!"

Her foot slammed into Alan's back, sending him rocketing out of the door he had come through seconds before. He crashed straight into Fuzzy, head butting her and knocking himself unconscious.

"Master Alan! Master Alan!" Fuzzy exclaimed, shaking the poor man's body like a ragdoll. "You hurt Master Alan! You'll pay for this!"

"Alright! Time for some action!" Russell exclaimed, pulling out his swords.

Tyler stood beside him, smiling as he said, "Not if I get to it first!"

Captain Jones had moved without anyone noticing, somehow getting herself outside and on the deck, more than ready to face a charging Fuzzy head-on.

"Looks like things are getting interesting, huh Doc?" Morgan said, pulling out his sword.

"I'm a bit concerned about what you consider interesting then, Captain." Christopher replied, balling his hands into fists.

The Sirius crew got ready to assist since they were certain such a small girl would be pulverized by Fuzzy. She was very slim and didn't look very strong. Hell, they were shocked that such a woman was the captain of this group of men. Even her crew doubted this would turn out well, but they knew it was pointless to try and stop their captain.

The giant woman was now charging across the deck, running rampant and full speed at the female captain.

"Ben, should we help?" Mike asked, concern in his words.

"Even if we try, Cap'n looks determined. We should wait for her signal."

In the blink of an eye, Captain Jones had sidestepped, causing Fuzzy to run right past her and into the wall head first. The area around her shook with the huge shock, and after a second she pulled herself back. Fuzzy attempted to swing at the Captain, but in her dazed state she simply spun around and fell over. There was no indication of her getting up anytime soon.

"…What the hell?" Nathan said, breaking the shocked silence.

Captain Anabelle Jones, captain of the Bonnibelle. Blonde hair, brown eyes, a scar over one eye and an eye patch covering the other, reaching a height of 5'8. Twenty-five years of age, and very quiet about her past. She absolutely loves accessories, decorating her hands in rings. Along her travels, she had accumulated an impressive collection of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that she would wear occasionally. It was more of a status thing, really.

After Fuzzy had been taken care of, all that remained of the invading crew were the two scrawny twins. Captain Jones cracked her neck and said, "Listen here, I can either let you two take yer mates and go, or I can send ya all down to Davy Jones."

The twins, obviously scared, hastily picked the first option, took their crewmates, and sailed away.

"Wow Anna, you were amazing!" Thomas exclaimed with his eyes shining.

"Huh? Wait a second, you were all just standing there and watching me?"

"You know, that was actually kind of inpressi-" Tyler continued.

The captain cut him off, saying, "Hell, you could have taken care of the other two. That gorilla woman was probably about as strong as Russell." She then continued, "Hey! Ian, Benny, the hell are you standing around for? Get the cups!"

"Yes, Cap'n." They replied.

She sensed something was off. "Actually, wait a second. Mike, you help Ian. I need to talk to Benny."

Everyone else went into the dining room, and Captain stayed out on the deck to talk to Ben. Of course, the Sirius crew and her unoccupied mates eavesdropped at the door.

She pulled him to the side and looked at him for a moment, trying to prompt him to speak. When he didn't, she asked with a bit of irritation in her voice, "What's your problem?"

Benjamin crossed his arms and looked away from her, a sense of shame creeping up his spine.

A sigh escaped the captain's lips and she crossed her own arms, shifting her weight onto one leg. "If you're not gonna tell me, then don't show me. I don't want to have to solve a conflict between my crew when I don't know all the motives." She said.

"…You've always been like that. I don't get it." He muttered, turning his face farther away.

"The hell are you babbling about?"

Benjamin faced her, a hurt look on his face as he said, "Thomas was talkin about how ya used to be happy and smile all the time. I've never seen ya smile in the last four years I've known ya."

"Don't talk about then." Anna snapped. "Things are different now. The times changed, so I changed too. There's no reason to talk about the past, so don't."

He shifted his body to face her, leaning in and asking her, "Why are ya so mad?"

"Come off it. If that's all you're gonna complain about, I'm going back inside." She said curtly, turning her back and heading for the door.

"That's not fair!"

She paused mid-step, shocked. Slowly she turned back to face Ben, and he had a strange expression on his face. She had never seen it before, and it worried her.

"Why does someone you don't know get to know more about you than I do? Why does that pirate crew get to have special privileges, instead of being treated like all the others!? What makes them so special!?" He yelled, his frustration getting the better of him as he said what he had been thinking.

{...}

I looked down at Captain, but I couldn't see her facial expression. The oversized hat she wore covered her eyes, and the shadow from it covered the rest of her face. The poor lighting from the setting sun didn't come to my aid, either.

She was definitely mad. There's no way I'd to get away with shouting at her, especially after pressing her about something she didn't want to talk about.

Captain's arm moved in a blur, and suddenly my back had been slammed against the wall with surprising force. It almost hurt, and I could feel her hand clutching my shirt so tightly it was about to rip.

"Don't you ever raise your voice at me again." She snarled, a deathly aura emanating from her.

I had only fought Captain once before, but back then I was weak. I was sure that now I was definitely stronger than her, but I was shocked to find that my entire body's strength couldn't compare with her one arm holding me back. What surprised me even more so, was that it seemed like she wasn't even trying.

"Don't you ever talk about the past again."

She was scary. Her tone of voice, her strength, and her seriousness were enough to pressure me into silence. I didn't want to speak up, because I didn't know if she would surprise me again.

"Don't meddle, Benny. You've been with me longer than anyone, and you know a lot more than I'm comfortable with. Unfortunately, you mean a lot to me so I have a soft spot for you, but if push comes to shove it'll kill me if I'm biased towards my mates."

"Cap'n... Are you sayin somethin might happen soon?" I asked hesitantly.

Her grip on my shirt loosened and her hand dropped to her side. The hat on her head slid forward a little, covering her face with its shadow. "God help us if it does. We may lose another one." Her gaze moved to the dining room door and she said, "They're special because I'm afraid of them." She pulled her hat lower over her face and continued. "So just leave it alone."

Captain? Afraid? Of them?

"Cap'n, when those pirates leave, I need to have a serious talk with you."

A laugh escaped her lips and she said, "I figured." With that, she disappeared into the dining room. As the door came to a close behind her I thought I heard her mumble, "If you guys wanna eavesdrop, you should be more secretive about it."


	3. Chapter 3

Annabelle POV:

Everyone settled in the dining room eventually, and Ian still sat a bit closer than usual. He was very anxious about these strangers, and I had told him he could sit next to me.

"So, tell me again what brings you here to the Atlantic Expressway." I said, playing with a grape on my plate.

"This is how we usually get to the Mysterious Islands. We're headed to Moldor first, then to the Islands." Eduardo replied.

"Ah, right. You were gonna branch off to Moldor. Are you out hunting for treasure?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

Morgan caught on to my suspicion almost instantly. "We were, actually. What about you?"

"Oh, we were just heading to a little place called Skull Island." I replied.

Everyone's eyes widened instantly. "You know where it is?" Thomas asked.

I bit back my victory look. "Oh, you know of it? How interesting."

Morgan seemed frantic. He realized how big of a mistake it was for his crew to lose their cool and now he was desperately trying to gain the upper hand.

"I thought you were going to the Mysterious Islands. Could you secretly be going to Skull Island?" I asked, stabbing the grape with the fork and bringing it up to my lips. I opened my mouth to eat it, when Morgan did something I had anticipated, but not fully expected.

"Why would that be a secret?" He rebutted, regaining his composure.

I put the fork down, grape uneaten, and rested my chin on my hands. This made Benny confused. "I guess we'll just hafta settle this here and now. We wouldn't wanna waste time puttn' it off."

Morgan reached to his side for his gun, anticipating a fight, and everyone else stiffened. Slowly I pushed my chair back, meeting the Pirate Kings eyes as his hand gripped the handgun he kept in a holster attached to his belt.

I groaned, leaning back in my chair and resting my feet on the table. "Ian, I want an apple. Do we have any left?"

The Pirate King looked at me, confused, as Ian nodded and stood up. He disappeared behind the swinging door and came back out with a ripe, red apple.

I bit into it, causing the crunch to fill the awkward and confused silence in the room.

"Say, Thomas, you know Betty had a crush on you?" I said, meeting his eye.

"W-what!?" He exclaimed, startled by the sudden change of subject.

"She didn't stop talking about you for weeks after you left. It was cute."

He shifted in his seat, flustered and confused. I took another bite of the apple, and a sigh escaped my lips. "You know, sometimes I wish those girls didn't end up like they did. They were smart, young, and beautiful. They definitely had more choices... So why did they become pirates...?"

I looked at the apple in my hand, the same vibrant scarlet staining its skin as the one that once stained my deck.

"Wasn't yer hair longer?"

I snapped up from the apple and looked at Nathan. Our eyes met, but after a second he turned away. My gaze dropped down to the ends of my hair and I touched it.

"They cut it." I said quietly.

"They?" Russell inquired.

I stood up slowly, my eyes meeting those of the Pirate King. "I need to check something. Benny, you're in charge." Without getting a response I left the dining room, running to my study and throwing open my atlas.

"The map..." I had a feeling that bastard captain had a plan all along, and was waiting for a chance to execute it.

I threw open the door and watched as the Sirius crew was swinging back onto their ship. My feet carried me to the deck, and I noticed a small piece of paper in Morgan's pocket.

My teeth gnashed together in frustration, and without a second thought I ran from the far side of the deck and kicked off the railing towards the Sirius.

"Captain!" I heard Benny scream, attempting to reach out and catch me.

"I'll get the bastard, I swear it!" I yelled back at him.

Flying twenty feet over the open water, I didn't slow down fast enough and nearly overshot myself. Luckily I had grabbed a rope and swung around the Sirius ship, slowing myself down enough to land on the deck.

How dare that bastard take my map!

I landed just above where their dining room should be, and it seemed like no one saw me fly over. I noticed Morgan heading away from the rest of the crew, and I seized my opportunity as quickly as possible. Swiftly and silently I landed behind him, and without the slightest indication I was there, I snatched the map from his pocket.

Right when I was about to jump back up unseen, I heard someone yell.

"The hell!? She jumped on the ship!" Russell yelled.

I exuded Morgan's arms and jumped back onto the roof of the dining room, but the men followed me before I could grab a rope and swing back over to my own ship. They were all climbing up, and if I didn't act fast I'd be trapped. My hand found its way to my sword hilt and pulled, pointing it at the men surrounding me.

"Cap'n! Hurry!" Benny was desperately waving to me and my crew was running around frantically. "We're caught in the current!" He yelled.

What!? The only branching current around here leads in the opposite direction! It'll take them at least three weeks to be able to break that straightaway!

I noticed a break in the Sirius men and ran to the edge of the roof, jumping and taking a deep breath as I prepared to dive into the ocean.

My plan was cut short as my foot was caught on something, and I saw none other than Morgan holding it.

"Idiot, let go! My ship is getting further away!" I yelled, trying to kick him off.

"If ya dive in those waters yer gonna get killed! These waters are shark infested!"

"I don't give a damn! Let me go!"

He pulled me back onto the deck despite my struggling and held me back so I couldn't try and jump again.

"Captain, don't be reckless! We'll be okay!" I heard Jacob yell.

I broke free of Morgan's grip, but my ship was too far away now to be able to swim. I ran to the back of Morgan's ship, cupping my hands around my mouth and yelling to my men, "I'll find you guys! I promise! I promised you won't be alone anymore, so wait for me!"

I could see their lips moving, their arms waving to me, but I could no longer hear their words. Footsteps sounded cautiously behind me, and I felt a deep anger rising in me.

"Why did you stop me?" I asked seriously, not turning away from the railing. I could see my ship with nearly everything I owned sailing away, getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

"The second you hit that water, yer as good as dead." Morgan replied.

My hands clenched even tighter, but I decided that I didn't want to argue. Instead, I let out a sigh and turned towards the crew, crossing my arms and leaning against the wood frame. "Well Pirate King, now that you've decided not to let me try my strength in the water and separated me from my crew for three weeks minimum, what do you plan to do with me?"

His crew looked at me with something akin to anger and disgust. I'm sure they had something in their heads along the lines of 'our captain saved her from shark infested waters! She should be grateful!'

I scoffed at my own thought. Grateful? This was all his fault in the first place. He decided to pick a fight with me the instant he laid his hands on my property. Hell, if anything, he should be grateful to me! I could have defeated him and his crew within seconds, and taken all of his valuables! At least that way I'd still probably be with my crew!

He brought this hand up to his chin in thought, and I got even more irritated.

"Why don't we just dump ya on an island? That way we won't have to listen to ya complain." Eduardo snarled, challenging me.

"Just try it! I'll chop ya into prices before ya can even blink!"

Thomas stood between Eduardo and me, arms out to his sides, and with the most innocent look on his face he yelled, "No fighting!"

For a second, I saw Jacob. Nearly the exact same thing happened when Mike first joined the ship a couple years ago. Benny would probably say something like that, too.

I stepped back from Eduardo, reluctantly, and asked, "How old are you, Thomas?"

He seemed confused but answered my question anyway. "I'm seventeen, Miss."

For a moment, I saw myself in him. I remembered when I was seventeen, starting out with a brand new crew and a strong sense of adventure.

I let out a deep sigh and my shoulders sagged. "Look, my mates are getting farther and farther away from me, and I'm damn sure without a Captain they're all gonna start fighting each other. I'm just a bit frantic, that's all."

"It's no problem, as long as ya don't kill anyone." Morgan replied, waving his hand. "Since we won't be in Moldor for another three weeks, it looks like yer gonna have to stay with us. The problem is, we don't have a spare room for ya."

"...You what?" I asked, exasperated. I turned and took a deep breath to keep my temblor in check, then said, "Okay, you don't have room. So, what does that mean for me?"

"Well, you're gonna have to share a room with one of us."

This is unbelievable. How can they expect me to be okay with this in the slightest? These men are outrageous! I can not, will not, go along with this!

"This is ridiculous…" I muttered. "How do you not have some kind of guest room? What if you have to transport someone? Are they gonna sleep in the cargo hold? Let em eat rats for breakfast?"

"Miss Anna, I took the last bedroom available, and we just haven't gotten to building another. We never had the need to, until now at least." Thomas said calmly, putting his hand on my back.

I sighed once more and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay, fine. Fine. Do I at least get to choose who I have to share a room with?"

"Of course. It'd be unreasonable to force you to spend three weeks in someone else's room without a choice." Morgan said with a huge smile on his face.

God, this man just wants me to lose my temper. "Okay then, I'll room with you Pirate King."

"…What?"

"You heard me. I want to room with you. Is there a problem with that?" I asked, crossing my arms and challenging him.

I anticipated some kind of snarky response, but the captain started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I snarled. He really was irritating me now.

"Are you serious?" Nathan asked.

"So, ya snuck on board to be Captain's woman." Eduardo commented.

I was about ready to lose my temper and strike him for that comment, but Thomas's hand restricted me a bit. I stuck to rolling my eyes and snarling, "You're fucking kidding me."

"Miss Anna, you can stay with me." Thomas said, trying to remedy the situation a bit.

"It's okay." Morgan said. Everyone turned to him, and he continued.

"I'm not so much of a fool to turn down an opportunity such as this. Besides, you know what they say. It's the experiences that make the man!"

I don't think anyone had ever said that, but I sure as hell agreed with him.

I was then picked up off the ground and thrown over Morgan's shoulder like a sack of vegetables.

"Wait, what the hell!? Let go of me!" I yelled.

"Bahaha! This is gonna be a fun three weeks!" Morgan exclaimed.

"I said let go of me!"

Finally, in the Captain's room, he let me go. "Sit anywhere you like."

I took him up on his offer, sitting in the chair closest to me. It was a bit rickety but liked it more than the exquisite velvet chair on the other side of the room. This one seemed more appealing to me.

Captain's room was almost like mine, filled with little treasures he'd either stolen or gotten from treasure hunts. Knick knacks and odd jewelry littered his shelves and desk, with the occasional quill and stack of parchment here and there. I noticed an ink bottle on his desk that had been left open, and the top of the ink had begun to dry.

Without my noticing I signed, sinking into the rickety chair and looking up at the ceiling. My thoughts wandered to Benny and the crew. They were a bunch of boys when I wasn't around, and I'm sure they'll all be sick of each other after a week or so. Hopefully, they make it out of the current without killing each other.

They worked very well together and were great friends, but without a neutral party to mediate and watch over them they could get a bit too emotional. Those boys had hard lives, and I can only hope they wouldn't make it harder for themselves. If they could figure out how to get along without me, then my job would be done.

"Silly boys..." I muttered to myself. I looked over and saw Morgan drinking a bottle of rum from a port about seventy miles away.

He caught my eyes and asked, "Do you want some?"

"No, I don't drink." I replied, looking up at the ceiling.

"No wonder yer so serious all the time! Lighten up and have a drink!" Morgan persisted, pulling out a glass for me.

"I don't drink." I repeated in a harsher tone.

Morgan looked over his shoulder at me. "Why not?"

"I just don't."

"Well, that's too bad. This is quality rum; took a hell of a lot of work to get."

"I don't doubt it. I remember once seeing that in the royal palace. Thought about stealing it for my mates, but they wouldn't know how to appreciate it. They down alcohol like water."

"Aye, young pirates don't appreciate the fine things in life like a glass of good wine or a good crew. They're just full of energy and a strong sense of adventure."

"Aye. And the best thing we can do as captains is give it to em and keep em safe. Give em a little guidance along the way."

"...Aye." Morgan replied, sipping his rum.

I'm sure that conversation is what caused Morgan and me to get along. We didn't question each other and just went along with everything.

His crew, on the other hand, was going to be a bit more of a challenge. Thomas was already fairly accepting of me, and so was Nathan in his own way, but the other three seemed to be a bit more hesitant.

Maybe it was just my pirate side, but I was just eager for this challenge. I was ready.

It was my second day on the ship, and I was determined to start off on the right foot. Besides, if I could resolve my conflict with the one who started everything I could definitely give a better impression to those who did nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Morgan and I entered the dining room for breakfast, everyone else had already sat down. We had stayed up all night talking, and the poor man was about to fall over. He told me the booze helped him stay awake, but now I was certain each sip only took him further and further away.

"Mornin, everyone!" We said, walking in together.

"Good morning, Miss Anna!" Thomas said happily, smiling and gesturing to the seat next to him.

"Is Nathan in the kitchen?" I asked, noticing the empty seat beside me.

"Yeah, but he should be out any minute." Morgan replied, starting on a new bottle of rum.

"You know if you keep drinking like that, your liver is going to give up on you." I said.

"Eh, if it hasn't killed me yet it must not be that bad."

I groaned. "Well, when you're dying of liver failure don't say nobody warned you."

Just then Nathan walked out with breakfast, and once I saw what was on the plates I nearly fell over.

"Miss Anna, are you okay? You're looking a bit pale..." Thomas commented.

"Are those cinnamon rolls?" I asked, staring intensely at the steam rising from the golden brown buns.

"Yeah." Nathan replied. "Why?"

"It's nothing much, really. It's just that Ian can never get cinnamon rolls to come out right." I said, looking fondly at the steaming buns.

"The white haired guy?"

"Yeah. He's pretty shy, but he's a sweetheart. He doesn't get in well with Benny, though. I bet they've already started fighting."

The crew all exchanged looks.

"Annabelle, you know why they're fighting right?" Doc asked.

"No idea." I replied. "But if I had t' guess, I'd say they're fightn over a woman. It's foolish if ya ask me. Whoever she is, we probably ain't never gonna see her again. Unless we visit the Ajida area, then maybe."

"Wait, you think they're fighting over some woman they met at a port?" Eduardo asked, jumping in the conversation.

"Well, that's the only thing I can think of. We got stranded in Ajida fer a month a few years back, n' ever since then those two ain't been on good terms."

"Miss Anna, what if they were fighting over you?" Thomas asked.

I nearly choked on my breakfast. "That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard in years. Y'all are a lot funnier than I expected."

Nathan looked like he wanted to say something.

"You got somethin to say, Nathan?" I asked.

He looked away from me, and his expression made my heart waver. If Ian sat there looking like that, turned away from me with a completely straight face, I'd know something was seriously wrong. Most of the time when he was just a bit shy or embarrassed, he'd turn away with his lips slightly puffed out.

But, Nathan sat completely stone-faced and my hand reached out to touch his head. If I was on my own ship I probably would have hugged him, but since another pirate crew was in the room I had to be a bit formal.

Once I realized I wasn't still on the Bonnibelle I stopped myself. My hand was just about to touch his head, and he looked at me with a confused expression.

"Sorry. When Ian does that, it means he's upset. It's a habit."

"You were really touchy feely with him yesterday. Are ya his woman?" Morgan inquired.

"No, not at all. He's just really shy, and he hasn't opened up to anyone else yet. I bet that he ain't even opened up t' that girl he likes."

"Yer surprisingly nice sometimes, for that mean face ya got." Morgan commented.

I threw my hat at him, catching him by surprise and making him laugh. My eyes scanned over the faces before me, and my usual grumpy expression relaxed a bit. "I don't want to be mean to you guys. I'm just not used to anything here. I'll only be cranky for the next day or two."

Later that day, since I didn't have anything else to do, I decided I would help Thomas out with cleaning the deck. I found it a bit irritating that his crew would make him do it by himself, especially since this ship was particularly big. It was just a bit bigger than mine, but their use of all this space was atrocious. Their floor plan was terrible, their storage room was badly organized, and there was way too much stuff in places that it didn't have to be.

But, despite my personal preferences, you should never criticize another man's ship. It's the biggest insult a pirate could utter to another.

"Miss Anna, can you take this down to the cargo hold?" Thomas asked, referring to a group of boxes.

"Yeah, no problem." I replied, picking up a couple. They weren't as heavy as I thought they'd be, so I was able to carry about five at a time.

The boxes were all in the cargo hold and the deck was both clean and organized by noon. I was surprised how long it took to get done. Usually, my crew would do something about it before it got bad, so it took about ten minutes maximum.

I stretched a bit, popping my back and neck as I did so. It would be lunchtime soon, and my second day on the ship would be halfway over. If only it'd go faster. "Thomas, is there anything else were doing today?" I asked.

"I don't think so. The deck is clean and so is the cargo hold, but the last things to do are little so I can take care of them."

"If you say so. I'm taking a nap then." I sat on a pile of rope, rested my back on the railing of the ship, propped my feet up on a box, and pulled my hat over my head.

I woke up to the sound of shouting, and when I heard glass shatter I snapped wide awake. Instantly I was in the dining room, where the sound had come from, without a second spared to think.

When I was faced with four hotheaded men glaring at me, a large sigh escaped my lips and my shoulders sagged. I had thought my crew started fighting seriously, breaking out the rum bottles and attempting to hurt each other. Only when I looked up again did I realize this wasn't my crew.

"What the hell is going on? You guys gave me a heart attack! If I heard glass breaking and shouting on my ship, I'd think-"

"Enough about yer damn ship woman, this doesn't involve you!" Eduardo snapped, shouting at me.

I was appalled. "Excuse me?"

"Eduardo, calm down. It's not that big a deal." Morgan snarled, trying to calm his own temper.

"Not a big deal!? We're stuck with a lazy ass, loudmouth woman that doesn't know her place! Why the hell do we have to suffer because of your impulse decision!?"

"Eduardo! That's out of line!" Christopher said, grabbing his shoulder tightly and turning Eduardo to face him.

The man in the eyepatch smacked his hand away, and Morgan grabbed his shirt. "I am your captain. You have to listen to me. I let you stay on this ship, so you will respect me if you like it or not."

"Anna, I think it'd be best for you to stay out of this." Nathan said, standing beside me.

"No, I want to hear what Eyepatch here has to say." I replied, crossing my arms.

"Jones, are you daft? I've gathered you're a crazy woman but I didn't believe you to be that crazy!"

I ignored Morgan's words. "Go ahead, Eddy. Tell me all your problems. You can cry if you want; I'll hug you and pat your back."

"Are you trying to die, woman!?"

"Believe me, I've tried. It'll take a lot more than an egotistical dick to put me to rest."

Just then the door opened, and the two youngest crewmates came in. They were considerably late to the party.

"Why is everyone yelling?" Thomas asked.

"And who wasted rum?" Russell asked, looking at the smashed bottle on the floor.

"Ha! My second day and I've already pissed Eddy off! I thought he'd last a bit longer than that. You sure are a hothead."

"I'll put you in your place, you cocky ass woman!" Eduardo screamed.

Within the next second my cheek stung, and a loud slap shocked the entire room into silence.

"Hell, that stung." I said, rubbing the stinging area. It faded after several seconds, and I looked up at the still furious Eduardo. "You're stronger than I thought, Eddy. But, isn't it against your rules to let women and children get hurt?"

I felt like if I didn't keep talking, everyone would attack Eddy. So I continued on. "Do you feel better now, or do you still want to beat the shit out of me? I'll fight you if you're still pissed."

"Miss Anna, you can't be serious!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Lemme check my schedule… I kinda have to pee, but if we fight within the next ten minutes I could probably squeeze our little tussle in. Oh, and don't tell Benny that we fought. I'll get one hell of a lecture if he finds out."

"You wanna fight? Fine, I'll beat the shit out of you just like you want."

"Great! Once you systematically kick my ass you can dump me on the nearest island. I plan to survive on seagull eggs and purified sea water, maybe some fruit if it's there." I turned and went out to the deck where there was more space, and my rambling only pissed Eduardo off more. "Alright! Now that I have my survival plan finished, let's tussle!"

"Captain, are you seriously allowing this?" Christopher asked.

"We may have to step in at some point, but I feel like Jones knows what she's doing." He replied.

"First, let me set some ground rules. Pirate King is the one who has the final say of who wins. Second, there are no other rules. Hit me with whatever you like, kick the shit out of me until I cough up blood, etc. Third, the match is only over until one person says they can't take anymore, or until Pirate King calls it. Okay?"

"No objections." Eduardo replied.

"Okay, since you didn't object to the rules met me continue. I'll have no weapons in this fight." I said as I threw my sword, gun, and dagger to the side. "You can keep your gun. Also, I won't be using my hands. The instant they leave my pockets I lose. Finally, my boundaries are limited to the deck. You can go anywhere on the ship, shoot me from where I can't reach you if you will, and again if I violate my rules I'll instantly lose."

"She's setting herself up to die! Captain, stop this!" Thomas exclaimed.

Morgan pursed his lips.

"And here's the last bit. If you win, you can do what you wish with me. Kill me, throw me in the ocean, leave me on an island, or you can keep me here and make me do whatever you want. Let your imagination run wild with that idea."

"This seems almost too easy. What's the catch you wretch?" Eduardo snarled, fuming.

"There is no catch. I'm just laying everything out on the table here."

"You're going to die." Nathan said bluntly.

"Maybe." I replied, shrugging. "That just means I'm not strong enough to protect myself. Now, are you ready?"

"Let's get this over with." Eduardo spat.

"Alrighty then! Make sure to break a couple of my ribs, and if you slash right here," I said, pointing to the crook of my neck, "It's my most sensitive spot! Have fun!"

Then, the match started.

I dug my hands in my pockets and closed my eyes as Eduardo came at me.

For five minutes, I didn't resist him. I let him beat the everliving hell out of me, and I could tell he was getting bored. So, I ducked under one of his punches and used my body to flip him over. While he was down I kicked my dagger up off the ground, catching it in my teeth and tossing it to him.

"Use that. It'll hurt me more."

"What the hell? Do you want me to kill you?" Eduardo asked.

"I dunno, I guess. What do you say, Eddy, how about helping out your old pal?"

Using the name Eddy pissed him off, and he lunged at me with the knife. I dodged just enough to let the knife cut me, but not enough to cause serious injury. But, he avoided slicing the crook of my neck.

Maybe he's not completely heartless.

He noticed the knife only served the purpose of spilling a bit more blood, so in the midst of his slices he launched his foot into my ribs. I felt several ribs crack and staggered back, hitting the wall of the dining room.

"Heh, yer more softhearted than I thought. Tell me, Eddy, why haven't you sliced my neck? What, do you not want to hear me scream in agony? Or rather, do you really not want to fight?"

"The hell are you talking about? Quit messing around!"

"So do you not want to kill me, Eddy? Do you just wanna act tough in front of your crewmates by showing you're stronger than a woman? Oh Eddy, if you wanna show strength, you should challenge someone who will fight you seriously."

"I knew it… Yer not fighting me seriously! Yer just playin around!" He yelled, throwing the dagger on the ground.

"Oops, ya caught me. So what, do you want me to fight ya for real?"

"That's the reason I started fighting in the first place, you stupid wretch!"

"Do you still want to beat the shit out of me, or are you satisfied yet?"

"Just fight me already!"

"You asked for it, remember that." I said flatly.

Instantly I began attacking him with kicks, jumping, twirling, and stepping around his minuscule attempts to hit me back. Once in awhile I'd give him the chance to dodge, but the look on his face just made me go back and attack him.

After about thirty seconds of relentless beating, I jumped away from him onto a pile of cargo boxes.

"Are you done yet, Eddy? I'm starting to get bored. I thought you were stronger than this."

"Are you seriously still playing around? You're pissing me off woman!"

"You seriously just took a beating and you want me to actually fight you? You're crazy, but whatever. Alrighty then, ready or not here I come."

I jumped down from the boxes and in front of him, bringing my leg down as I did so. He jumped away from me, and my foot sliced the box in two.

"Oh no, I missed!" I said sarcastically. I was extremely bored with this game now, and I just wanted it to be over.

Eduardo hadn't been able to jump very far, so I swung my leg around to try and hit his head. He ducked, though.

"Hell, I'm so bored I can't even land a proper hit." I said.

Without me noticing Eduardo was holding the dagger again, flying towards my face. I dodged in time, but the strap to my eyepatch got cut. It fell to the floor, and I looked at it blankly.

"Damn, that was my favorite eyepatch. It kept all the light away from my eye." I said, keeping my one eye closed.

I wasn't paying attention, and the knife sunk into the crook of my neck.

Intense chills went down my spine, making every hair on my body stand up. It was a cold, agonizing feeling that shot terror through every fiber of my being. It reminded me of that day.

In one swift movement, my entire body turned and dug my foot into Eduardo's face. It launched him back and made him fly forward, slamming into the dining room wall and falling unconscious as he hit the ground.

"Took him damn long enough." I scowled, moving a bit and trying to get used to the feeling of the cold blade in my shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

"M-Miss Anna, what did you do!?" Thomas exclaimed, shaking Eduardo's shoulders.

"He's not dead, I didn't kick him hard enough." I replied, grabbing the handle of the dagger. I could feel the steel blade in my shoulder, and I felt all my hair stand on end. It was scary, and I didn't like it.

"Thomas, take him to the infirmary. I'll need to check his head. Also, Anna, will you please come? We need to treat all of your wounds as well."

"Aye. I'll head over there now."

In the infirmary I took a seat on one of the beds, and a mirror sat across from me. I had been cut and bruised all over the top half of my body, and my leg felt a bit sore from kicking him so fast. It had been a long time since I seriously tried to hurt someone, and now I'm out of shape.

I should probably start training again...

Just then both Russell and Thomas were carrying in Eduardo, and Christopher followed them. They laid him down on the bed next to mine, and I could already see a large bruise forming from his cheek, all the way to his temple.

"I'm going to check him first since your wounds will need continuous attention."

"Aye." I replied, swinging my legs.

If I was back on my ship, Benny would be scolding me as Mike tended my wounds, and Ian would be in the kitchen, making me some chocolate covered strawberries. Jacob would be pestering Ian for some of the strawberries before they were ready, and if my judgement is right Tyler would be standing behind Mike, constantly asking if I was alright.

I sighed and looked up at the mirror. I miss them already...

Christopher then walked over with a small cart, carrying bandages, wipes, disinfectant, and several other things.

He tended my smaller wounds first, cleaning them up and rubbing them with disinfectant. Then he started work on the dagger.

"I'm going to disinfect the area first, and once I take the blade out I'm going to start stitching it up. Okay?"

"Sounds good." I replied, glancing at the medical supplies on Doc's little cart.

Once he finished cleaning and disinfecting the surrounding area, Doc's fingers gripped the handle of the dagger. A violent wave of goosebumps shot over my skin, making me grip the infirmary bed tightly. He then started pulling the blade out, and I gritted my teeth so hard I thought they were going to crack. Tears flooded my eyes and a deep blush covered my cheeks, making it extremely difficult not to jump away.

"Are you alright?" Christopher asked.

"Just get it over with." I replied, clenching the side of the infirmary bed even tighter. Once the dagger was completely out he began stitching, and that was even worse. Feeling the needle and his fingers brushing against that spot was like torture. Just as he was finishing the last stitch, Morgan and Nathan came in.

"How are they holdin up, doc?" Morgan asked.

I looked up at then with my tear filled eyes and flushed face, knuckles white and Doc silently working beside me.

"What the hell?" Nathan said.

Doc finished up the stitching and snipped the wire, ending my relentless torture.

"They're fine. Eduardo has a mild concussion, but he should be fine if he's careful. Anna here, on the other hand, has several broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and obviously many abrasions and bruises. Our most concerning injury, though, is her shoulder."

I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself down. "Thanks, Christopher. It feels a lot better now."

"What was with that face?" Nathan asked, looking at me.

"I told you, it's my most sensitive spot." I replied, covering the spot with my hand.

"How come you wanted him to stab ya there then?" Morgan asked.

"Well, I figured if he knew my weakness he'd think he holds some power over me. Misogynistic men like him don't like it when they can't control a woman."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"I ended the fight quickly. I doubt he could actually hurt me if I didn't want him to."

"About that... Never mind. I'll ask later."

I looked at Morgan, only to be distracted by Eduardo shifting in his bed.

I bet he's dreaming of perverted, misogynistic thoughts. Sweet dreams, dick.

Several days later I was sitting in the dining room, wrapped foot up on the table, and a plate of cupcakes in front of me. It was a favor from Nathan, since I taught him how to make an Ajidan dish called pizza.

Eduardo had woken up the previous day, and he was not happy. Even looking at me spited him, and I found it hilarious. It was so easy to piss him off.

I stretched a bit after shoving a whole cupcake in my mouth, then decided to go to the deck for some air. Anything was better than having Eddy glare at me as he ate his weird peach yogurt. I've never even had a peach before!

"'Scuse me." I said, getting up from the table.

"Where are you goin?" Nathan asked.

"I'm heading out for a bit. Eddy's resting bitch face is starting to get to me."

"What-!?" I heard Eduardo exclaim as I closed the door.

The sea had always been calming. The smell, sound, even just looking at it always made me feel at ease. Land had never appealed to me; I felt that it couldn't hold secrets. The ocean, however, is deeper than any man could ever wish to go, able to hold secrets for eternity and more. You'd never have to worry about someone digging them up.

My gaze met the waves, crashing against the ship and making it rock ever so slightly. Under the bright morning sky I could see a very distorted reflection of myself below, striking me as déjà vu. I'd seen this image before, many times, in fact.

Throughout my pirate life, looking at myself through the ocean's eyes taught me things. As time went on, the image became less and less clear. It hadn't ever bothered me until I was reflected in red.

I jumped away from the railing, but I moved a bit too fast and tripped over my not-so-intact ankle. My butt hit the deck, and my heart was beating harder than it had in awhile.

"What was that all about?" Nathan asked from behind me.

I looked over, and he was leaning against some stacked cargo boxes about ten feet away. He was nowhere near the door, but rather near the front of the ship. The only assumption is that he was watching me.

"Nothin." I replied, standing up with slight difficulty and wiping off my butt.

"Ya jumped back like ya were scared."

"Pfft. I'm not scared of nothin." My back was turned to him, but I was sure he had a bored expression plastered on his face. His brow would be a bit wrinkled and he'd be looking at my back.

"Yer scared of us."

"Ah, ya got me." I said, turning to face him with my hands held up. "Just the sight of ya strikes terror into my heart. I'm about ta piss myself now, bein alone and defenseless."

"The hell's your deal?"

"I dunno. My ass kinda hurts and I'm not fully functional, but that's about it."

"Ya use more proper speech when yer not bluffin."

"Oh shit, you caught on to that? Benny hasn't even noticed. Hell, now I gotta be extra sharp."

He leaned his head to the side, looking away from me with that bored expression still plastered on.

"Tch. You're no fun. I'd expected you to be cold to me actually, so why are you being so nice to me? You hardly speak a word to anyone else."

He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe because I know ya already."

"What do you mean?" I asked, squinting my eyes at him.

"From before. Ya wouldn't shut up until I talked to ya, smilin and tryin to figure out what I liked and whatnot."

"Don't talk about that." I snapped.

{...}

Captain Annabelle had her fists clenched tight, and the shadow of her hat was cast over her eyes. Nathan stared at her, arms crossed, and gave a nonchalant reply.

"Yer so much more closed off since then."

"I said don't talk about it."

He rolled his eyes. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't. "...Whatever. Just don't waste those damn cupcakes. A pain in the ass to make."

He walked back into the dining room, and she didn't utter a word.

As he sat in his seat, he remembered the time he had spent with her years ago. He was always so harsh and cold to her, but no matter what he said she had a cheery smile on her face and a happy comeback.

It pissed him off.

Near the last night he was on their ship, the girls were throwing a party. It was Anna's 19th birthday party, and the girls cracked out some quality liquor. Anna herself had a few cups, and when the color started rising in her cheeks she pulled her first mate out to dance with her. What was that girls name, Amy? It was something with an A.

The rest of the girls danced too, with one switching out with another to play music. Captain herself didn't play an instrument that night, he didn't know if she could play at all, but boy could she sing. Her lungs must have occupied the majority of her body, because the sheer power and passion in her singing were amazing. Nathan had taken a few cups himself, and sniggered as he watched Thomas dance with a little girl named Betty.

Captain Anna's hair had been long then, all the way down to the hem of her pants. She wore it back in a low ponytail, with a couple pins to keep the bangs back. It may have been his imagination, but Nathan believed she had lost a bit of weight since then. She seemed a bit thinner, but still managed to have a figure. He didn't get it.

"Is Miss Anna alright?" Thomas asked, snapping Nathan out of his thoughts.

"Fine." He replied. "A bit pissy."

"Did ya say somethin to set er off?" Captain asked.

"I said she's more closed off now, and she snapped at me." He replied.

"She did that to me before too! If I talk about when we were on her ship, she gets mad at me!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Do you guys remember that conversation she had with her first mate, Ben? He didn't even know she had an all female crew." Russell added.

"He said he'd never seen her smile! That's unbelievable!" Thomas said.

"She hasn't smiled since we ran into her again. She's like a different person." Morgan put his hand up to his chin, thinking.

"I was talkin to Tyler, the orange haired kid, and he told be she was like, incredibly strong. I didn't believe him, but after she fought Eduardo I can't doubt it."

"That's another thing. Benjamin was held against a wall by her one arm, and he couldn't break free. I think there's something up with her."

"I don't get it. When we were on her ship, she couldn't even win against Thomas in arm wrestling." I added, thinking it was a bit fishy.

"That Ben guy seemed strong too, but I don't see how a girl as little as her could be that strong." Captain continued.

Russell turned to christopher, asking him, "Doc, you examined her, right? Did she have killer abs or something? Is she some kind of she-hulk?"

"No. Actually, she's a bit lacking in muscle mass. She's underweight." He replied, resting his arms on the table.

"Wait, what!? Underweight?"

Christopher rested his face in his hand, continuing, "To me, I thought she seemed almost malnourished."

"Can she function like that?" Captain asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Well yes, but it'll be a strain on her body."

Russell jumped in again, exclaiming, "But wait, her crew was huge! The only one who was scrawny was that newbie kid!"

"It is strange, isn't it?" Morgan said, leaning back in his chair.

"Does that just mean I need to feed her more?" I asked, looking at her plate of unfinished cupcakes.

"I'm not sure. I can't really tell what's going on with her. If I recall correctly she eats a healthy amount of food most the time, and she even over eats. The only time I've seen her plate with food left is now." Doc replied.

Just then she walked through the door, hobbling a bit gloomily and not raising her head. She sat down, ignoring the conversation, and picked up a cupcake.

"Miss Anna, are you alright?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah."

Nobody spoke up.

She sounded so deadpan, completely empty. All of us knew it, but no one knew what to say.

She placed the cupcake back down and stood up again. "Sorry, Nathan. I'll finish these later. I'm gonna start work on cleaning the bathroom."

Then she walked out, without even looking up.

{...}

In the bathroom, armed with a sponge and a pail of soapy water, I sat in a corner and clutched the sides of my shirt tightly.

Sobbing was the worst part of this. There were too many people around, and if any of them heard me everything would only get worse. If they saw me cry, only bad things would happen.

It hurt so much, but there's no way I could fully express it. Stifling my sobs and desperately trying to hold in my tears only made it hurt more.

I hate this... I hate it here... God, why do I have to be here...!?

I felt sick. Almost like I was going to puke. A gag escaped my lips, a sob coming out with it, and I tried as hard as I could to not let anything else out.

My eyes squeezed shut tightly, trying to get all the tears out. Feeling the warm droplets slide down my cheeks only triggered more tears, making me clench my teeth in frustration and sadness.

God, I miss her…!

Why did this have to happen...? Couldn't I just stand up and push this down like I usually did? How come the tears actually slid down my face instead of being held back? Since when did I let it get so out of hand that I actually sobbed?

I pressed my hand even tighter over my mouth, silencing the sobs that tried to escape and forcing them to stay that way. My sleeve wiped away the tears on my face, and I didn't let any more form. There's not a chance in hell that someone here would ever see me looking so pathetic.

After a sniffle and a little more rubbing my eyes, I started working.


	6. Chapter 6

"Miss Anna, please! I can carry those boxes, you need to rest!" Thomas exclaimed from downstairs. All morning he'd been trying to get me to just sit down, but lately, that was all I'd been doing.

"If I sit down for any longer, I'm never gonna get up! A couple scratches won't kill me."

"Your ribs are broken!"

"Only a couple! I have more."

Eventually, he caved in and let me help with minimal complaints. The work was getting done a lot faster, and when we were nearly finished Nathan passed by.

"What the hell are you doin?" He asked with a glare, directed at Thomas. "Why are ya lettin her work?"

"I wouldn't shut up until he let me, mate. Don't blame him."

"I'm sorry Nathan, but Miss Anna was insistent…"

Nathan sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Reaching for the box in my hands he said, "Lemme carry it."

I held on. "I can carry it. It's not heavy."

"Yes, it is. Lemme carry it."

"Really, it's okay! I want to-"

"Damn, just lemme carry it!"

"No, I-" I stopped. I was falling backward, realization striking as I was about to tumble down the stairs.

"Miss Anna!" Thomas called from behind Nathan.

* * *

It was their second week on the ship, as well as our monthly party. Thomas had caught the attention of Betty, and at this point, she was completely taken by him. He was nearly all she talked about unless you brought up old adventures or the Moldarian Palace Rose Garden.

That night Taylor, my navigator, agreed to watch over us. She hadn't done it in awhile, and Andy was begging me to take a break from work. As a treat for our guests, I took out our most potent liquor, Andy's favorite.

I remember that night being damn near one of the best of my life, so much so that even Nathan was smiling along.

Betty had pulled Thomas onto the dance floor, and I had Andy at my side. Nathan sat on the sidelines, chatting with Taylor and sipping his drink. Music from my girls made the ship lively, and singing from yours truly filled the air as the night went on. All was well until we got attacked.

A cannonball landed on the deck, splintering my floor and nearly taking out my doctor Sue. Men followed after it.

I grabbed my sword from its hilt and said, "Girls, men, let's kick some arse!"

"Aye!" They all yelled back, attacking the invaders.

At first it seemed they had the upper hand, but with the men's help, they were countered quickly. Never before had I seen someone fight so well; both of them brought down these men like toothpicks. It was mesmerizing.

I was surrounded by five, and two of the men grabbed my arms. I wasn't strong enough to fight them, and before I knew it two more were holding the crew back as the third brought a dagger towards my eye.

"Miss Anna!"

* * *

I slammed my foot down hard, bending it at an awkward angle but preventing myself from falling. "You can carry it." I mumbled, letting go of the box and going around. A few minutes later I was in Christopher's office.

"Anna, what are you doing here? Do you feel alright?" He asked, drying off his hands and turning to me.

I sat down on the infirmary bed and said, "I hurt my ankle."

"When? How?"

"Just now. I almost fell down the stairs."

Christopher was already sitting down on his little stool. "Let me see." He said.

I took off my boot and rolled up my pant leg, revealing an already bruised and swollen ankle. After a quick checkup, Christopher said I'd sprained it badly and needed to stop trying to work.

"If you keep trying to go about as normal, your body is going to give up on you."

"It hasn't already, so-"

"So I wouldn't push it. If you collapse, you won't even be able to walk for several days."

A half-assed "Aye," was followed by a sigh. "I guess yer right. I'll try to take it easy."

"Good. Now get some rest."

Later that night I was in the showers, letting the hot water run through my hair and down my back. My finger traced the scar over my right eye as I looked in the mirror with my left. I covered it, not wanting to look at the color I'd hated since I was born.

My hands slid down to my neck, and the wound greeted them with pain. It wasn't even slightly healed yet. My hair would agitate it sometimes, but usually, it was protected by the collar of my shirt. I gazed at it, tracing it gently with my fingertip. Chills shook my spine, goosebumps erupting all over my body, and something appeared in the mirror with me.

A big, meaty hand held my jaw, tilting my head away as another trailed down the side of my body. A black haired mass kissed my neck, coarse hair scratching against my shoulder and neck. It looked up, still holding me with its hand trailing down near my thighs; ice blue eyes locking with mine. It smiled.

My scream could be heard throughout the ship, and I found myself on the ground. Broken glass covered the area around me, blood guided by the falling water into the drain, and I curled up in agony and terror. Glass had embedded itself into my knuckles; my ankle had hit the side of the shower wall, stressing the already injured tissue.

I felt dirty. Filthy, violated and used. It was sickening, creating a knot in my stomach. Crippling fear made it impossible for me to get up, my body was preoccupied being racked by trembling. What's worse, I was starting to think about what happened to her.

I screamed again, and I heard the door to the bathroom fly open. Several pairs of footsteps followed it.

"Anna!"

"Go away!" I screamed, holding myself tighter.

"Are you alright?"

I recognized the voice as Nathan's, but in my moments blanketed in fear that didn't offer me much solace. But, somehow, I managed to reach out.

"No…" My voice was weak and breaking, trembling about as much as my body was. Quickly, fear swept in again. "Just… Just go away! Get out!"

I heard the footsteps nearing the shower door, and a sudden wave of comments came after it.

"What are you doing!?"

"Nathan! That's indecent!"

"Stop!"

I recognized the voices as Russell, Thomas, and Morgan respectively.

"She's stubborn as shit, but I'm not gonna let her suffer." I heard Nathan say.

I got a grip on myself, shaking my head violently and reaching up to turn off the water. I moved to stand up, but my foot absolutely failed to comply with me. Nathan's footsteps were just outside the door and I yelled, "Don't come in here!"

A towel dropped on my head and I heard him mutter, "Cover yerself up n' come out."

I wrapped the towel around me, and after making sure the parts that counted were covered. My left eye was closed and quietly I said, "Um… I can't get up."

It was quiet for several seconds, then he uttered a baffled, "What?"

"Earlier today on the stairs… I hurt my foot, and now I can't get up."

I heard several more pairs of footsteps and the sound of Christopher talking from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yer kidding me."

"Sorry…"

I heard him sigh, and he came closer to the door. "I'm gonna open it up and help ya, okay?"

After checking the towel and making sure my eye was closed, I replied, "Okay."

The door opened and Nathan appeared, looking at the floor. He noticed the cracked mirror, but decided now wasn't the time to ask. Quickly he picked me up, and I put my arm around his neck while using the other to hold the towel in place.

The rest of the crew greeted me, and I felt my eyes start to fill with tears. "Put me down." I whimpered, trying to bite back the sobs.

"No. You can't walk with yer foot messed up."

"Yes, I can. Put me down."

He didn't respond; he was having none of my stubbornness.

"Miss Anna, are you alright?" Thomas asked, keeping his distance from me.

I looked away from him and said, "I just need a minute. Let me get dressed and… and…"

"Anna…?"

My shoulders began to shake visibly, and I clenched my teeth tightly. No matter what, I couldn't cry in front of them. I gripped the towel tighter, but the tears still wouldn't go away. The sobs built up in my throat, and I decided… Why not cry?

{...}

She started to sob, clutching her towel and Nathan's neck like her life depended on it. Then, as the crew stared in disbelief, she bawled with no restriction. Nathan held her awkwardly, not quite knowing how to handle the awkward situation.

Christopher, on the other hand, quickly stepped in. He placed a hand on her bare shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly, offering her immense solace. "C'mon, let's leave her alone for a bit. Nathan, take her clothes and let her change in your room." He said.

"Aye." They all replied.

"W-wait, I want to- *sob* A-Andy! Waa ha ha!" She couldn't finish her sentence through her sobs, so Thomas took the initiative.

"It's okay, Miss Anna. We'll be waiting in the dining room if you want to talk to us."

She nodded.

Nathan sat on the other side of the bed, looking at the wall as Anna got herself dressed. Her eye patch was the first priority, and after came her underwear and things of that ilk. Things went smoothly, staying on and fitting well until she had to button her shirt. The glass in her knuckles made it impossible for her entire hand to function and each button needed significant finger finesse to go through the little slits and stay in place.

"Um… N-Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"I… can't button my shirt."

"What?" He muttered, rubbing his face with his hand. He couldn't tell if this entire situation was lucky or unfortunate, but to him, it was just bothersome. God, he likes a girl and all kinds of shit happens to her. Maybe he should go live in a hole as a hermit, nobody could bug him that way.

"My hand…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence because Nathan was already walking around the bed. He knelt down in front of her, muttering "useless," and started working on buttoning the shirt up. He moved with caution, not intending to make Anna uncomfortable or even more upset. When he got near her breasts a slight blush covered his cheeks, but he made sure to keep his mind out of the gutter. She was upset right now, it wasn't the time to be getting excited. After buttoning the last button he stood up, cutting off the opportunity for his hands to linger.

"There. I'm done." He said.

She didn't look up and kept her gaze on the floor. From his angle, he couldn't tell if the drops on her lap were from tears or her wet hair. He assumed it was both.

"You should dry yer hair. I don't think you'd wanna be sick like this." He said, grabbing a fresh towel from his dresser and handing it to her.

She made no attempt to grab it, saying, "It's okay."

Nathan sighed, loathing her stubbornness, and sat down beside her. If she didn't want to do it, then he'd do it himself.

Anna appreciated all that he was doing for her, despite being stubborn and majorly unresponsive. The towel was soft, and Nathan's hands were strangely comforting to her. Though tears still crept out of her eyes she felt more relaxed, when suddenly she felt his fingertip brush the back of her neck.

At first she thought she imagined it, but when it got closer and closer to her scar there was no mistaking it. The tingles going down her spine, the hair-raising chill it sent all over her body, and the rush of goosebumps gave her certainty.

Of all the ways she could react, she just put her hand over the spot and let him continue.

{...}

Last night I had told everyone I would talk at dinner the next day, so I had today to prepare myself for the downfall.

Christopher had made it mandatory for me to get checkups every day, and he intimidated the rest of the crew into not letting me do anything whatsoever. I couldn't tell if boredom was worse than death at this point.

The weather had been growing hotter, branching away from the cool and sometimes rainy time of year. Layered bandages made me sweaty, sticky, and smelly. Inside was gross and outside was hot, but at least outside had a minimal breeze once in a blue moon.

I was lying atop some cargo boxes in a pair of Eduardo's spare shorts and a tank top tied up just under my chest. My hair was tied up as well, uneven and knotted in a wet, unskilled excuse for a bun. I never pulled my hair up on my own, usually one of my mates did it for me, but it was so hot I couldn't stand it on my back.

"Thomas…" I groaned, flipping onto my back. "I'm bored."

Instead of hearing, "I'm sorry, Miss Anna," only the crashing of waves responded to me. The deck was empty.

"Shit." I muttered, sitting up and stretching. A sharp pain struck my back, catching me by surprise. I prodded the area a bit and learned I had been sunburned.

There was a slight shuffling sound, which I learned to dismiss as rats.

"Gotta go see Doc…" My feet met the deck softly as I hobbled to the infirmary.

A little squawk sounded with a little shuffling, causing me to look back.

"Dantalion!" I exclaimed, holding my arm out for her to perch on. She was a pretty falcon, darker than most, with golden eyes and sleek feathers. Big and powerful, one of the fastest messenger birds around. I love her.

A note was tied to her leg, and upon opening it I read,

Captain Jones,

By order of the Navy, your bounty has now reached 73,500,000G dead, due to your recent theft of the Rethunas Sword. Your bounty alive is only rumored, but from what I've heard circulating it may average to about 114,000,000G. That's over twice as high as that damned Morgan's. Looks like there's a new candidate for Pirate King. Watch out for the council, and Morgan himself. They may target you and your crew.

-Captain Stewart.

I crumpled the letter in my hand and hurried toward the navigation room. I was damn sure Eddy kept parchment in there, quills and ink too.

My chicken scratch writing littered the paper, explaining in full detail my situation and the actions my crew would need to take in the next few weeks. Summer was approaching, and that would be a crucial time for Tyler. Intel on the Sirius crew was included, along with news of my bounty.

Things are about to get interesting.

'Til next time,

Captain Jones.

I had to write the entity of the letter with my right hand, due to my left still recovering from the mirror incident. After feeding Dantalion and petting her a little bit, I let her out to fly. I didn't send the letter yet; it wasn't time.

"What are you doing in here?" Nathan asked from the doorway.

"Nothin," I replied, "just restin."

He eyed me suspiciously and his gaze lingered on my back. "Yer red as a lobster."

"Yeah, I think I fell asleep on the deck."

"How long have ya been in here?"

"Maybe… twenty minutes?"

"Did you see Doc for yer back yet?"

"No, I got distracted."

"By what?" Nathan asked, sitting in the seat next to me.

I looked at my pocket sneakily, then turned to the window. "It's a secret."


	7. Chapter 7

Christopher gave me some ointment for the burn and rubbed it with cold water, minding the bandages around my neck.

"Thank you, Christopher." I said, stepping down from the infirmary bed.

"I'll be seeing you at lunch?"

"Yeah. See you then."

Sometime within the next week, the Sirius should be branching off to Moldor and the Bonnibelle will have broken off their expressway. Two weeks after that they should reach the main naval port, with the Sirius not far behind.

Out on the deck, the sun was still beating down and I was grateful for my hat casting shade on my face and neck. Back by the cargo boxes, I had been napping on, one of Dantalion's shiny black feathers lay on the floor. Without a second thought I tucked it into my hat.

Morgan's cool room welcomed me, and I took a seat in his desk chair. When there was nothing to do I would mess with his trinkets, some of which I had recognized. He had a great eye, finding things of great value I had scrapped as trash. No wonder he's the Pirate King.

In my endless shuffling the discovery that some pieces fit together provided me with immense interest and entertainment. He only had so many pieces, however, the end result leaving me feeling fore confused and frustrated than accomplished. After several seconds of contemplation I just took everything apart and put all of it back where I found it.

Within the hour I found myself lying on the floor fiddling with Dantalion's feather as she perched on my hip. The possibility of converting her feather to a quill crossed my mind.

A painful churning in my stomach told me it was past time to eat. I began the intricate process of getting up, having to mind my hand, foot, and ribs.

* * *

When I was on my feet I ended up on the deck, the dining room just behind me. My arms were a bit sore, which I found strange, but the loud clatter coming from the dining room made me forget.

I had moved to sprint, but I didn't. Clatter grew louder in the dining room, swords clashed immediately to my right, shards of my deck flew in the air as cannonballs fell like rain. Suffocation swallowed my body, congesting it to stiffness. No movement came to me. There was no one on the deck, but the noise told me we were in the heat of battle.

The floor greeted me harshly. I could not see, blood pouring from one lid and an eyepatch covering the other.

But I saw her.

On the deck, pushed and held on my knees, I broke from the suffocating restraints. Scrambling and screaming for her, she who had just called my name seconds earlier in desperation. Hands violently gripped my shoulders, tearing me away from her. I screamed still, even more so as my vision became clear. The last thing I saw was her swishing ponytail as she held a dagger in her hand, slicing men away from where I sat.

She didn't even notice I had been pulled away.

The room around me smelled of tobacco. One hand held my shoulder securely, and another had a finger twirling a lock of freshly cut hair around itself. I could see deep purple forming on my shoulders and arms through the meaty hand caressing me.

Something warm touched my shoulder as the same meaty hand slipped down my arm. The warmth was advancing, making its way closer and closer to my neck.

* * *

Sometime later I heard the door open. I couldn't tell you how long I lied on the floor, hidden behind Morgan's bed.

"Anna, you in here?" I heard from the doorway. I have no recollection of who called me.

Only minutes passed until the frantic footsteps of the Sirius men could be heard. It's not like I was listening, but rather the vibration of the floorboard were difficult to ignore against my ear.

"Anna!" They called, "Anna, where are you?"

They opened the door and closed it again.

I want to die. Why couldn't I have just died?

Sleep was blissful. I wasn't dead, but I wasn't conscious. I only had nightmares when I woke up.

I didn't want to get up, but my bladder was merciless. Reluctantly I gave way, rising to get to te bathroom as Dantalion hopped behind me.

The men were gathered in the dining room. I didn't bother listening.

After relieving myself I went up to the crow's nest. Way up there a breeze could be felt, which was like as oasis in Hell. The sticky heat got unbearable quickly, even lingering around behind closed doors.

Dantalion flew up and rested on my shoulder, rubbing her head against mine. I'm fairly certain she could tell when something was off, she always did. For a long time I sat and stroked her, thinking and enjoying her silent but comforting company.

"I miss her…" I mumbled, looking up at the sky. "God knows how much I miss her."

"Don't say that!" Thomas exclaimed, a chair clattering loudly on the floor.

"There's no other explanation!" Morgan's powerful voice boomed.

What the hell is going on down there?

The men were in the dining room still, but I didn't know what they were talking about.

"What are we going to do when we meet her crew?" Thomas asked.

"Do they even know where we're going?" Russell countered.

"During that meeting, didn't Anna talk to her crew about the part that split off to Moldor? They must be planning to meet us there." Christopher replied.

It was quiet for a minute, then Morgan spoke up.

"I guess we just have to come clean." He said.

"So we're just going to tell them Miss Anna disappeared after we pressured her into talking about something that obviously upset her!?" Thomas screamed, slamming his hands down on the table.

"What else can we do Thomas!? There's nothing else to say!" Eduardo yelled back.

"We just haven't looked hard enough! She's still here!"

What the hell? Do they think I jumped off the ship or something?

"She jumped damn it!" Nathan exclaimed angrily, silencing everyone else. A few seconds later he continued. "She tried jumpin' before. Now she did it when no one was around to stop her."

"It's our fault." Thomas croaked.

"No." Christopher cut in. "It was her decision. Based on how she was acting, I don't think we could have stopped her anyway."

"Do you all seriously think I'm that weak?" I spat. "If that's all it took to kill me, I'd be dead a thousand times over. Don't underestimate me."

Everyone turned, staring in disbelief.

"You're alive?" Eduardo stammered.

"Mostly." I replied.

Dantalion squawked at me, which was unusual.

"What's with the bird?" Russell asked.

"Shut up, she's saying something!" I snapped.

She began to squirm and fidget, which was even more unusual. It was then that I realized she was panicking.

"Shit." I breathed. "Shitshitshit."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Do you guys have any raisins?"

Dantalion's wings were starting to twitch, and I tried my best to keep her calm. I was losing her.

Nathan returned with several raisins in hand, which I quickly offered to her. All of her feathers were ruffled and her claws were digging into my shoulder. She wasn't responding to me.

Within an instant she screeched and expanded her wings, shooting out the door and into the sky beyond.

"Shit!" I spat between clenched teeth. "He'll notice us now!"

I moved quickly as I could to the deck, and my fears had been confirmed. Dantalion was circling in the air, having a standoff with a brown falcon named Abril. Several hundred feet away a well-polished ship was approaching.

"Is that Captain Leywei's ship?" Morgan asked.

"It damn sure is, and he came to talk business."

Leywei's ship aligned with ours and a call rang out from across the way. "Permission to come aboard?" Leywei's first mate yelled from their deck.

Morgan glanced at me, and Dantalion perched on my shoulder. "If we don't, there'll be a fight. At the moment, I advise against it." I whispered to him.

Nathan and Eduardo heard me and put down the plank for them to cross.

Captain Leywei came aboard last. He looked like an aristocrat, dressed in white and gold with coattails flapping behind him. Never had he been very pirate-like in appearance, importing his clothing from aristocrats in Reiz. It had something to do with his brother's wife's third cousin twice removed, but I never bothered to get into specifics.

"Take him to the dining hall. Invite his crew in for dinner, and tell Nathan to make key lime pie, or something else green. I'll join you shortly." I whispered to Morgan. "Don't mention youre the Pirate King." I added before slipping away.

Adorned in my nicest pirate wear, otherwise known as my usual outfit, I slithered to the bathroom and began fixing several things.

My outfit was fairly simple, consisting of a white button up shirt, brown pants and boots, and a red scarf acting as a sash tied around my waist. A plain, brown leather underbust corset secured with three buttons in the front held my shirt in place. The coat I was wearing reached my knees and was brown as well, with an intricate gold lining all around. Rings littered my fingers and a rose pocket watch sat in my pocket, along with two necklaces and three bracelets.

I had darkened the rims of my eyes and stained my lips red, also powdering my face to a pale color. If Leywei wanted to discuss business, I need to be able to have some underhanded tricks at my disposal.

By the time I reached the dining room dinner was nearly halfway over. The smell of key lime pie and awkward chatter flowed through the doors. Dantalion and Abril were making quiet, hateful noises at each other.

"Anna?"

"I said call me Jones." I snarled at Russell. "Captain Jones."

"Nice to see you've joined the party." Leywei said, smiling. "Would you like to sit next to me?"

"Hell no." I snapped. "What the hell is this? Why is this disgraceful dish on my table?" I sneered, referring to the pie.

"You told me to make it!" Nathan snarled at me.

"The hell I did! Who told that clown to do this!?"

"Jonsie, you don't have to act like you didn't say to make it. You of all people would know it's my favorite."

"I don't give a damn about what you like or don't like. I'll serve you shit on a broken plate and you'd eat it with a goddamn smile on your face."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Morgan asked.

"What the fuck did you say to me?" I said coldly.

"This is my ship! You have no authority to bitch at my crew!"

Leywei smiled coyly. "Jonsie, is this not your ship? Are you tricking me again?"

I grabbed Morgan's shirt with my right hand and pulled him close to my face. "Who the fuck do you think you are? I'll throw you into the fucking ocean, how about that?"

He tried pulling away and started to panic when he couldn't.

I made it so his ear was right next to my mouth. "Just play along. You can be pissed at me later, but for right now if I want to stay alive, when I let you go I need you to look horrified. This would be to your benefit as well."

I pushed him back with enough force to make him land on his butt. "Don't you dare threaten me again. Do you understand me, bitch?"

Morgan had an absolutely mortified expression on his face.

"Y-yes ma'am…" He stammered.

"Don't be so harsh on the poor man! He must be ten years older than you. I'm surprised he eve listens to you."

I gripped Leywei's cravat firmly and yanked him close as well. "What about you, old man? You're going grey and melt when I call you your favorite name."

Leywei bit his lip. "I'm not sure I remember. How about a refresher course?"

My expression turned deadly. "Fucking cunt."

He reached for me, and within an instant, I had slapped him so hard across the face he wound up on the floor.

"Hot damn…" he spluttered.

At this point I saw the message had been transferred to the whole crew. That was helpful. I sat in the chair closest to Leywei and put my feet up on the table. "So cunt, I know you came for business. Spill it."

"That's not fair, Jonsie. You got all dolled up and everything! I thought things were going to get exciting."

"You've had more excitement in the last thirty seconds than your whole life."

He sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his cheek. "Well, I'd heard that you were planning to head towards Moldor. They're in a frenzy over you since you snatched the Rethunas Sword. Your bounty is currently up in the air, rumored about one hundred million gold pieces. Have you heard?"

"Yeah, Stewart sent me a letter awhile ago through Dantalion. He said it's estimated at one hundred fourteen million."

"Stewart's out of the loop then. Apparently, the Rethunas Sword wasn't the deciding factor. What's currently up for debate is one of your crew members."

My heart thumped. He was probably talking about Tyler, but if this was going to play out right I could pin it as Thomas. Hopefully, he was a smart enough boy to catch my drift. "Yeah, what about him?"

"He's a runaway royal of Moldor."

"You better not be shitting me."

"It's true." His first mate cut in. "The king saw his wanted poster and immediately recognized him. He claimed it was his son who ran away years ago."

"How long are we talking about here?"

"About nine years ago."

My whole body froze up for a second.

* * *

"Captain, Are you sure it's safe to be here?" Nicholas asked, walking beside me and looking at the poverty stricken community.

"It's fine, you're a big boy. You can defend yourself here. Besides, there's no reason for someone to attack you."

"If you say so…"

"Now, I need you to find Denaye. I'll go over this way, and you check back there."

"Aye."

Nicholas went his separate way, and I continued down to the rougher area of town. With a slight sneakiness I searched for someone completely different. In fact, Denaye was a victim of my selfishness. I had given Nicholas a fake agenda, one that would take awhile for him to figure out.

I turned into a little shady alley as a shortcut, walking with a bit of swagger to flaunt my status. I was well known in the slums as both generous and merciless. Nobody around there picked fights with me anymore, unless they wanted to get hurt.

I saw a woman with black hair and a ripped dress sitting on a blanket outside her small house, holding a young baby in her arms as two older children played in the dirt. Her eyes were closed as she gently rocked the baby, and the two children noticed me quickly.

"Anna!" The older one yelled, running towards me and hugging my legs.

I picked her up and hugged her. "Hello, Makaila. It's nice to see you again."

A little boy stood behind her and stepped forward. "I'm Samuel! I like shapes!" He stuck his hand out for a handshake.

I took it lightly, shaking it a bit. "I'm Captain Annabelle Jones. Call me Anna."

The woman looked up at me, remaining on her blanket. "Annabelle, I haven't seen you in years."

"I'm sorry, Rachel. It's been hard. I thought you wouldn't want to see me."

"Annabelle! Don't you dare think like that. You know I love you just as much as I love her. And for goodness sake, call me Mom!"

I pursed my lips. "Who's this?" I asked, referring to the baby.

A smile lit up her worn face. "This is Cameron. He's about two months."

"Is Dad around?"

"He's in the back. Should I go get him?"

"No, let me. I have something to tell all of you. Wait here."

I went around the side of the house into the little backyard and saw a man I hadn't seen in years. His name was Feren, and he was from an island far away from Moldor.

"Dad?"

He looked up from the window he was repairing, and his hard face lit up with the happiest smile I had ever seen.

"Annabelle! It's so great to see you!" He exclaimed, moving away and hugging me.

"Will you come to the front for a second? I have a something to tell y'all."

He followed me to the front, and I sat out in the street to face them. "So, I have a special gift for the family."

"Oh, you don't have to do that! We're fine-"

I held out my hand to stop her. "I'm glad that I did so, especially since Cameron is now part of your household. Now this is a two-part present. First, I'd like to give everyone a little something."

I pulled three gold pieces out of my pocket, which the two children had never seen before. I handed one to Makaila and one to Samuel, the last one for Cameron. The two parents looked like they were about to cry. For them I reached into my pocket again, and pulled out a card.

"This card holds access to a bank account with one hundred thousand gold pieces in it. It's in your names."

Feren accepted it with a shaky hand as he held his wife with the other, both crying with happiness in their eyes.

"You didn't have to do this… This is too much to accept…" Rachel choked from the hand over her mouth.

"Kids, will you please go pack all your things? We're going to be taking a long trip."

"Yes, Captain!" Makaila exclaimed, bringing her hand up in a salute before dragging her brother into the house.

I turned to the parents. "You two better pack up as well. I'll hold Cameron while you both get ready."

They disappeared into the house, and while they were gone I did what I had done with all of their children. With words in a sacred language I placed a protection charm over then baby, which had once been placed on me by a tribe leader. I placed it on the entire family, but individual charms worked better. It was over the two parents as well.

The family came back out with all their things in tow, and I called a carriage from my connections. They treated the family like royalty as I instructed, and I rode on the top of the carriage on the way out to ward off any thieves.

The carriage dropped us off in the high-end district, just in front of a three-story manor with fifteen acres of service-hired, royal worthy gardens.

"What is this?" Feren asked.

"Yours." I replied, producing a key.

Rachel had to sit down.

"You're kidding, right? You didn't magically do this, did you? Are you joking?" She asked.

"No, and you don't have to pay for any of it. This house is yours completely, no landlord, no rent. One hundred percent free."

"How did you do this? This must have cost a fortune!"

"The money doesn't matter. I'm a pirate, I'll make more."

"Annabelle…"

"Captain, is this ours now? Are we rich?"

I almost laughed at her innocence. "Yes, this is yours. Do you know what else?"

"What?"

"You and your brother get to go to school."

"Really!? We can go to school and get smart like you!?" She exclaimed.

"If you study hard, yes."

"Annabelle, how did you do all this?" Feren asked, cradling his crying wife.

"Magic of piracy." I replied.

I left them in the care of their hired service, which they couldn't believe either, and returned to the slums for Nicholas.

Denaye's shop was now just down the street, but I heard noise from another alley. Not fearing the punks around, I went down to check it out.

I was horrified to find a bunch of boys absolutely tearing into another smaller boy. He was bleeding and dirty, also deathly thin. He needed help.

"Hey, bastards! Leave that kid alone!" I yelled, moving towards them.

"Oh shit, it's Jones!" One yelled.

"Let's get out of here!" said another.

They scattered like flies, leaving the poor boy lying in the dirt. He was unresponsive, so I picked him up and hurried to Denaye's shop.

The boy didn't wake up for a long time, but when he did he was in horrible shape. Nicholas had returned with our doctor Shante, and things had been taken care of. Shante made sure to give him water and made him eat something.

"What's your name?" Shante asked the boy.

"Jay… Jacob."

"How old are you?"

"I'm… nineteen."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just beat up a little bit."

"You coulda died, kid. What'd you do to piss off the Dodgens?" I asked.

"I stole some bread from them and got caught. It was worse because I didn't want to join their gang."

I crossed my arms, looking at Nicholas before returning my gaze to the boy. "That'll do it. Do you have any family?"

"…No."

"I see. Do you have anywhere to go after this?"

"No."

"Then how about becoming a pirate on my ship?"

"What?"

"Well, why not? Hot meals three times a day, a clean bed, fighting lessons, adventure and riches at every turn… what more could you ask for?"

"What are the downsides?"

"The possibility of death, enemies, and dealing with hotheads. Nothing new."

"Okay… what do I have to do?"

"Well, I need a new navigator. If you take this on you'll learn how to read the ocean, wind, sun, and stars. You'll never get lost again."

"What's the Captain like?"

"Most people don't like them at first, but they're the best captain you'll ever have." Shante cut in.

"…Will I ever have to come back here?" Jacob asked quietly.

"Only once in a blue moon. Pirates don't like Moldor much. It's crawling with Navy soldiers."

"…Okay. I'll do it."

"Debate, Get Jacob here some nice clothes. Put it on my tab."

Denaye rolled her eyes, knowing what 'put it on my tab' entailed. "You know, you can pay in bulk."

"Only in your dreams, babe." I replied, patting her shoulder.

Jacob opened up after awhile, and we learned he had run away from home and lived on the streets for six years. He had been ready to die, and had referred to me as his savior for a long time after.

* * *

"Shit." I said, putting my face in my hands. A sigh sounded and I sat up. "Well, that's definitely not what I was expecting to hear. Why was there never a fuss from the royal family?"

"There was. The queen went into shock."

"What? Do you mean that's why she 'fell ill'?"

Leywei nodded solemnly. "She had both of her children taken from her. About five years before her first son ran away, she had to hide her second due to kidnapping threats."

"Then… I assume Her Majesty couldn't bear it anymore."

"What's worse is, her second son's refuge village was burned down by pirates."

My lips formed a tight line. Jacob had a brother, but he might be dead. "When was the village burned down?"

"About ten years ago."

At the table there was another solemn face, twisted with thoughts and questions.

"Thomas, I'd like to speak with you after Captain Leywei has taken his leave."

Leywei ran his finger over his bottom lip, smirking devilishly. "Maybe I should talk to him as well."

Before anyone could blink the chair I had been sitting on flew at the wall, and Captain Leywei's shirt was held in my firm grasp. He had been slammed against the top of the table, and my lips covered his in a forceful but gentle kiss.

I pulled away just enough for our lips to part and whispered threateningly, "Don't you dare touch him." My hand still held his shirt, and I threw him away from me. "Tell me what you know about Tyler."

Leywei was terrified. He was stiff as a board, no coy smile on his face or joking tone. "There's a wide search party for him, on an almost global scale. The Navy, Royal Army, and Red Tears are all looking for that boy."

"The Red Tears? What did he do to piss of the Red Tears? They're hard to get involved with."

"The leader's son almost eloped with him. There was a whole uproar about Akiza Yamoto falling in love with another man."

"So why are the Royal Army and Navy after him?"

"He'd done some dirty work for the Red Tears. Akiza's dad made him do it."

"Why didn't they elope?"

"Akiza's known throughout the whole gang. If they left, Tyler'd be in even more danger. Akiza didn't want want to put him through that."

"So how does that contribute to my bounty?"

"You're harboring him and helped him escape."

"I see… So the Royal Army is after me as well?"

"Yes. There is a warrant for your arrest and execution. One of my elite connections confirmed your bounty as one hundred fifty three million gold pieces, and one hundred fourteen million dead."

"Holy shit…" I breathed. "That's a hell of a lot of money."

"Damn sure it is." Leywei said, pulling a cigar from his vest pocket. "You'll find many friends after you soon."

I scoffed. "What friends?"

"So do you believe me to be an enemy?"

"Well, that depends on your business today."

Leywei lit his cigar and took a long drag from it. With no hint of sarcasm he said, "You need to overthrow the current Pirate King."

Morgan flinched.

I scoffed again. "You and Stewart both. I've no intention of becoming Pirate King."

"Jonsie don't you know? The pirate with the highest bounty must challenge the Pirate King in a mandatory life or death battle for the title."

"Bullshit." I snapped. The previous Pirate King is still alive."

"That senile old bat? He'll be dead soon enough."

"Damn. That's cold for talking about your own father."

"I don't give a shit that he's my father!" Leywei screamed, slamming his closed fist on the table. "That coot couldn't hold on to his title long enough to pass it down!"

"Why don't you just fight the Pirate King then? Get your bounty up a bit and-"

"Are you daft? I'm not skilled enough to beat that monster in a fight! But listen to me Jones, you are! You just need to be serious, then you have a chance!"

"You know, even if I do become Pirate King one way or another, I don't plan on being your puppet."

"What are you implying? I'd never dream of doing that!"

I glared at him and spoke with a menacing tone. "Maybe if you tried hard enough, you could've taken it right from your father. No one stays long riding on coat tails. If you want to be Pirate King you need to work for it."

"If that's your take on it, why don't you do it? It'd be easy for you!"

"Wasted effort." I replied, waving my hand as if I was dismissing the thought. "I don't feel like defending a stupid title. I'd rather show up the one who owned their title with no strings attached."

"Then you hold no authority!"

"I don't give a damn about authority."

Now it was Leywei's turn to scoff. "Some authority would have come in handy when that Andrea girl was still around."

I paused, glaring at him. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Leywei took another drag from his cigar. "Maybe you wouldn't have been attacked at all if you had just a bit of hold in this big wide sea. Heh, maybe your little bitch would still be ali-"

The back of his head hit the wall five feet away, the chair he sat in hitting the floor after his body.

"Don't you dare speak about my wife that way."

Leywei still kept his cocky attitude, holding his bleeding nose in his hand. "Wife? You let her get raped and slaughtered before you put a ring on her finger."

A large thump made my chest hurt, and I nearly fell over. Flashes of blood matted hair, a dead hand lying motionless with a shiny diamond ring, and the sight of blood pouring from a freshly cut throat as the receiver spluttered for air made an intense wave of nauseousness take hold.

"Did that phase you? What about her screams, the sound of her choking on her own blood?" Leywei had a hard time holding back his laughter. "Anna! Anna! Help me!" He mimicked. "Andy! Let go of me bastard!"

I stumbled and hit the table, holding my head as her screams filled my head. The muffled cries as those men violated her, touched the places I had respected. They hurt her. They hurt my wife, my crew… They took my life away from me, so I took theirs.

"What did you call that bitch, Andy? Was she a dyke? Heh, did you want a bitch who thought she could pleasure you like a man?"

His screams soon filled the dining room, as I had snapped his arm in half. It was nothing but a twig under my foot.

"Annabelle!" Christopher exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.

My wrist turned the bone around, tearing the tissue and forcing Leywei to kneel on the ground. I placed my foot on his head and said, "I will murder you right here. Tell me this nonsense you're spewing out of your shit licking mouth before my foot gets lodged down your windpipe."

"Stop her!" Morgan called.

"Heh, you were pathetic! Helpless as your little dyke called. Those boys had a grand ol' time too. They said she felt like a virgin." Leywei chortled.

I brought my arm back, twisting the muscle from his shoulder. His bones crunched and cracked pleasantly. The rest of the crew came at me, and with a single swing of my leg I sent them all back.

"Your face was priceless. I'll never forget it."

"You hurt my wife. You killed my crew."

"I saw potential in you, dearest. I just needed to push you a bit."

With blind eyes I brought my leg up, then brought it down in the direction of Leywei's head.


	8. Chapter 8

I awoke on the floor, head throbbing and right temple bleeding. Fogginess clouded my mind for a second before slowly receding, leaving me with confusion. Away from me I saw a body, lying on the ground in a puddle of blood.

"Andy…" I breathed. "Andy!"

I moved to her, but two pairs of hands held down my shoulders instantly. She was only five feet away, right in front of me, needing me… I'm stronger now… No one can beat me!

With little effort I threw the hands off me, freeing myself. I jumped to her, but another set of hands grabbed my ankle and pulled me back. My free foot swung and connected, sending the other away from me.

Finally, I reached her, mutilated and nearly lifeless. I touched her gently, not wanting to startle or hurt her. Blood was splattered on her face, and her neck had a large slit reaching several inches in. Her hair was matted with both fresh and dry blood, some of her own and some of the others.

"Andy…" I choked, tears welling up in my eyes. "I'm sorry…"

She smiled. "You've gone mad. Pitiful." Her hair turned silvery white, falling in clumps on the floor. The beautiful smile I had come to know so well turned evil. This was not my wife.

It was Leywei.

Murderous intent coursed through me as I stared at his pig-like face. The Sirius ship enveloped the background and the unconscious crew littered the floor. There was no one to stop me now.

My hand gripped his jaw firmly, slowly adding pressure until small cracks could be heard. As I spoke, a large pop could be heard. "If I ever see you again, or hear of your shit-licking mouth speaking of my wife ever again, I swear to her that I will murder you where you stand. I'll be damned sure my crew can't stop me."

He was unable to give a verbal reply, but the fear in his eyes and effort at nodding made it perfectly clear he understood.

His ship sailed off into the horizon with urgency. Satisfaction fueled me as I took the men to the infirmary; just remembering the sound of Leywei's femurs breaking made me giddy. I'll definitely be able to tell them what happened tomorrow.

After checking for serious injuries and finding none, I took it upon myself to clean up the dining room. It was the least I could do.

Just after midnight, I heard the first man scurry about. I watched from my stargazing spot as they hurried into the dining room and waited until they came back out, confusion capturing their faces.

"He's not dead," I called, "just can't walk or talk for a while."

Nathan looked out at the deck for me, and flinched slightly as I landed before him from the roof of the dining room. He looked at me with hesitation in his eyes, approaching me cautiously and checking for any signs of anger or hysteria.

"What'd you do? Where's than man?"

"He's back on his own ship with two broken legs and a cracked jaw. Y'all were there for his arm getting mutilated."

"Wait, you didn't kill him?"

"Unfortunately, no." I said, leaning against the wall.

"Why not? There was no one to stop you."

A serious expression clouded my face and I met his eyes. "It's much more entertaining to watch someone suffer than to toy with a dead body. Besides, he can never stay away from me long."

Nathan went back into the kitchen for several minutes, then returned with a small plate of pudding. He set it down on the table before me and sat across the way.

"Some of the things you serve, I don't know how you preserve them." I said, grabbing a fork and taking a bite.

"I've picked up a few tricks in my years." He said, looking proud of himself. "What's with that bird, the black one that follows you around?"

"You mean Dantalion? She's a messenger falcon. I've had her for about six years."

"It must have cost a fortune."

"_She _did. But it was worth it. I can communicate a lot faster now."

Nathan opened his mouth and closed it again. After several seconds he spoke up. "Why does it have a ring around its leg?"

"It was my wife's engagement ring. I didn't want to lose it, so before Dantalion got too big I fit it on her leg and tied it. When she was big enough to keep the ring from falling off I untied the string. Now she's too big for it to come off." I took another bite of the pudding and continued, "She was a present from her, after all."

Nathan and I sat in silence long after the plate had been scraped clean. He had left to wash it off and put it away, but even when he returned he said nothing.

"You don't want to ask anything more?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He didn't answer me.

"Can I just talk to myself then?"

"…Go ahead."

I leaned back in my chair and gazed up at the ceiling. If I was going to tell my story, I'd start from the beginning.

* * *

"Andy, Andy! Come play with us! We're playing pirates!" I yelled. "Let's be the navy guards and catch the bad guys!"

'_When we were little, pirates vs navy was our favorite game to play. It was our dream to join the navy together, and one day be commanders of the whole fleet._'

Her face appeared in the cracked window, and quickly she came out with her wooden sword. "Let's hurry, before they get away!" She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. "We gotta practice for when we grow up!"

'_The pirates were played by some boys in our neighborhood, and we'd chase them all around until we got tired. They were very friendly, and shared most everything with Andy and me._'

"Andrea, Annabelle, come with us! We found something cool!" One of them told us.

'_One day they showed us a little abandoned treehouse, overrun by plants and completed with an old rope and board swing. That became our new playground. Every day from dawn to dusk we would play. We learned to make swords from rope and sticks, eye patches from leaves and vines… I even made a hat for Andy out of leaves._'

"Anna! Help me!" Andy whined, face twisted in frustration as she tried to tie her sword together.

"You're tying the knot wrong, silly! It has to go under first."

'_As we grew up the boys were more and more drawn into the local gang war. I didn't want Andy to get involved in that, so I slowly cut contact with them. What I didn't know was that she was dating one of them._'

"Andy, do you want to hang out at the treehouse today?"

"I can't. Mom needs help with sewing. Winter's coming, you know?"

"Okay, that's fine. How about tomorrow?"

"I don't know. I'll ask her."

"Alright… Talk to you later?"

"Definitely."

'_Winter was when the turf wars started. Certain gangs robbed from other's areas, and things were getting bad. Andy stopped talking to me completely, and when I asked her mom would say she was out with some friends._'

I sat in the empty tree house and looked down at the swing, remembering the day we snapped the rope. It had never been fixed.

Silence surrounded our place, and many things sat untouched. Our weapons stack was covered in spider webs, and the trenches we had spent weeks digging were filed with leaves. It was so lonely there.

'_When I was old enough for school, I made sure I had enough money for Andy's tuition as well. I'd work all day since I didn't have any friends to spend time with. I couldn't tell you if I was in love with her at this point, or if I was desperate to have that friendship and sisterly relationship back._'

"Missus Rachel! Mister Feren! Are you home?" I called from the front door. Rachel answered, and Feren came into view from the living room.

"Annabelle!" Rachel exclaimed. "What brings you over? Andrea isn't home."

"I know," I replied. "I just wanted to ask you, when she gets home can you give her this?"

I handed them a uniform and acceptance letter, to which they became flabbergasted.

"What is this?" Feren asked in disbelief.

"I got us into school on the other side of town. We have to wake up early to get there, but we'll get to learn a lot! They have a navy program too. If we do well this year, we'll get in no problem!"

"How can you possibly pay for this? The tuition is one thousand gold pieces!"

I smiled widely. "Since he's busy, I worked and worked and worked. I paid for next semester, too!"

'_Despite working so hard for her tuition, along with the additional cost of the mandatory uniforms… She never came to school. Not once. I thought she just didn't believe she could get into the navy program, so I worked hard to get first in my class. That way, I could recommend someone. From what I had heard, they almost always got accepted, no matter who they were. I had to try._'

It was the end of my first year at the elite capitol school, as a kid from the slums. Bullying, violence, and disbelief in my abilities had followed me every day, but if Andy could come to school with me and we can achieve our dream together... Everything will be worth it.

Exam scores had finally been posted. I ran faster than I ever had in my life. Students stood in front of the board searching for their names, but I disregarded them and rushed to the front. My eyes moved up to the top, scanning for my name, and finally, I looked up at the name in the number one spot.

I collapsed on my knees and started crying. Disbelief washed over me in an intense wave, making dizziness cloud my eyes. I had done it.

'_Andy went missing that summer._'

School was pointless. Life was empty. The naval program was pointless without her, my other half. She was the reason I even wanted to join the navy. It was something that we could do together, that no other girls even thought of. We were two birds of a feather, both ahead of our time.

'_Though I gained some respect at school for top marks, I didn't care. I was restless- where was Andy? What had happened to her? It was my fault, I told myself. It was my fault because I didn't talk to her enough. I was a terrible friend who wasn't worthy of her. At this point, I constantly thought she was dead. Then I started thinking, if she's dead, why don't I join her?_

_Being in that town reminded me so much of everything, even places we never went seemed to hold memories. My mom died in the spring a few years later, so I had nothing left to stay for at home. So after my fourth year of school, I skipped out. I jumped on the first ship leaving port and ended up on a ship manned by a man named Captain Harold Stewart._'

"My my, what do we have here? You want to be a pirate you say?"

"Yes, sir."

"Aren't you a bit young?"

"Yes sir, but I have naval training that would prove useful to them. I've learned their ways of attack and the techniques taught to them."

He scratched his beard, and after taking a moment to weigh his options he asked, "There's a myth saying it's bad luck to have a woman on a ship."

"To pirates, bad luck is an everyday occurrence. More is just another feat you can brag about in the long run."

He smiled. "It seems you've got it figured out. Welcome aboard, Jones."

'_Three years I was on that ship. A little after I turned seventeen, we were back in Moldor. Nightmares of Andy had plagued me for a long time, and I felt like they were going to come true. I was terrified of going back._'

I was in the slums once more, which had only gotten worse since I left. On these streets, people got jumped, robbed, raped, and even killed. Death had me on a leash; I was in no shape to resist.

"I don't want to go down this street. People get hurt around here." I heard someone say.

"Come on, I'm with you! You won't get hurt at all."

Something seemed off about the way the man was talking, so much so I had stopped walking.

"Please, can we go this way? I'm scared."

"You won't get hurt. Trust me."

"Hey! Stop it!"

"What's wrong baby? You don't like it?"

I had been hiding between two buildings and looked at the two out of the corner of my eye. The boy seemed familiar, but I couldn't see the girl.

"Don't call me baby! Let go of me! Stop it!"

"Don't worry, this will feel good. I promise."

"Help!"

I grabbed a broomstick off the ground and stood out in the road, my brow knotted in concentration. "Leave her alone, creep."

The boy looked at me, one hand holding the girl's breast and the other reaching for her skirt.

"Who the hell are you?" He spat.

"Let her go."

He pulled a dagger from his belt and said, "You know, your getup is pretty sexy. Female pirate eh? I wouldn't mind playing a bit with you too."

I advanced and struck him with the broomstick, knocking the wind out of him. He recovered quickly and swung the dagger, almost slicing my face but missing by about two centimeters.

"Run!" I told the girl.

She was immobile, legs like jelly and face frozen with fear. I'd just have to finish this guy off.

My navy combat training proved useful, as I took down the man within four minutes. He ran away before becoming unconscious, but I didn't bother to chase him.

"Are you alright?" I asked the girl, approaching her cautiously.

She was shaking, and her hair was in messy bunches in front of her face. "Mm-hmm…" She mumbled.

"Would you like me to take you home?"

She nodded.

I kept my guard up as I followed her since I hadn't seen her face. Either she was hiding it on purpose, or she just had really thick hair.

Familiarity tugged at the back of my mind as we continued down the streets, and smacked me full on in the face as I stood in front of a house kept together by elbow grease, nails, and rope.

The girl knocked on the door, and a welcoming face opened the door.

"Andrea!" The woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around her daughter who had been claimed missing for over five years.

"Andy…" I breathed.

'_I had found her. After she calmed down she told us those boys took her to Reiz so they could hid from one of the gangs around, and she'd been spending the past year cutting ties and settling things. She was finally coming home, when an old boyfriend of hers wanted to chat over drinks. He tried to take advantage of her, and told them I saved her. They didn't recognize me since I had gotten my eye patch and adopted a new style, but after I told them my name…_'

"Annabelle… Annabelle Jones, you said?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Anna… Anna!" Andy yelled, jumping up off the sofa and hugging me. "I've missed you so much!"

I held her tightly. "Me too Andy… Me too."

'_Three days later I bought myself a ship. I had enough money for a big ship, and I bought Bonnibelle. Her trim, detail, and interior plan were all gorgeous and influenced by foreign ideals. It was perfect. Before I left, I asked Andy to come with me._'

"So, you have to leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah… I don't want someone to outbid me on Bonnibelle, and staying here is dangerous. I'm a pirate now, so Moldor isn't very comfortable for me."

"It's funny… We wanted to be naval commanders, but you're a pirate and I have a bad history with gangs. You went to naval school and everything, paid for my tuition and such…"

"Don't worry about that." I said, grabbing her hand. "I have a new dream for us."

"What?" She asked.

"We can be pirate captains. We'll be right at the top, in competition with the Pirate King, or even part of his council! Come with me Andy, on my ship. We can start over together, you and me. We'll gather up a crew, and we'll make it!"

"Anna… Why do you do all this?"

"It's for you, Andy. Everything is for you. Because… I love you. Like more than a friend. I really, really love you."

She was speechless. Her mouth was parted slightly, and those gorgeous purple eyes were wide. My heart thumped and I held her hand a little tightly, trembling and hesitant.

I leaned in towards her and closed my eyes. I felt our lips touch, but after several seconds she pulled away. I retracted, and she pulled her hand from mine.

"No?" I asked.

"…No, I just… I don't-"

I smiled at her. "It's okay Andy. I didn't say you have to love me back. I didn't expect you to." The smile remained on my face as I asked, "But will you still go with me?"

She looked all around the treehouse, taking her time to think and mull over the thought. Finally, she turned to me and said, "Yeah… Let's be pirates."

'_After I told her I loved her she still went with me. We packed our bags and sailed off, heading god knows where at whatever pace we wanted. As time went on our crew got bigger, our adventures more daring, our treasure more rewarding… After one year of being together I had never been happier. Even if Andy didn't love me, it was okay just as long as she was my friend. Being around her was enough for me._'

It was the third night out newest recruit Sue had been on the ship, and due to maintenance issues the crew had to stay in a hotel in Ajida. It was also the night before the Ajida Independence Festival, so there weren't enough rooms for all of the crew. Andy had volunteered to share a room with me.

The rest of the crew had discovered my feelings for her on their own, and it had become increasingly noticeable Andy would sometimes take advantage of those feelings. It seemed like she had forgotten I was in love with her. At first I had expected it, but after months and months it had gotten so bad it almost drove me to alcoholism. Some nights I would drown myself in liquor, and other nights after Andy fell asleep I would lock myself up and cry.

"I can room with Captain, Andy. I don't need one to myself." Taylor suggested. It was rare for her to butt in without being addressed first, so everyone knew something was going on.

"No, it's okay. I want to room with her."

'_One night we ended up rooming together, and none of the other girl's rooms were by ours. I was really anxious about it. What's worse was there was only one bed._'

"I'll take the floor, you have the bed." I said, making a pillow from one of the extra blankets in the room.

"What? Why would you sleep on the floor if the bed is big enough for both of us?"

My heart thumped at the thought of us sharing a bed together, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. "That bed isn't big enough. We'd have to squeeze in."

"That's fine! It just means we'll be warmer, right?" She asked as she sat down on the bed.

"If I touch you, I won't be able to hold myself back." I said.

"What do you mean by that?" Andy asked.

I pushed her down on the mattress, holding her down by her wrists and said, "Did you really forget, Andy? Or are you just pushing my limits to see how much you can get away with? I love you, Andy. If I lay down in this bed with you I don't know what's going to happen."

She didn't respond, and tears started forming in my eyes.

"Say something."

She was quiet, and wouldn't look at me.

"If you don't say anything, I'm going to kiss you."

Still, she didn't say anything.

I turned her face towards mine and hovered just above her lips. She was doing nothing to stop me, and her body wasn't tense at all.

Gently I touched her lips, intending to pull back after several seconds but being unable to. I kissed her deeper, and my fingers traced her neck down to her collarbone. My hand reached lower, but I was hesitant. This wasn't right.

She must have noticed my hesitance, and placed her hand behind my neck.

My self-control snapped right then and there, her signal sending me into a frenzy. I ran my hands along the sides of her body, reaching under the hem of her shirt and touching her bare skin. She responded to me, pulling on my neck and bringing me closer to her. Tingles went down my spine as she held the side of my body with her other hand, tracing it with her fingertips and holding my hip firmly. My fingers brushed the hem of her pants, and they tugged at it.

Something clicked in the back of my mind and I jumped away from her, scurrying to the wall and shaking my head furiously. "I'm sorry," I said, "I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just-"

"It's okay." She said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"No, no I know you're not comfortable with that but I did it anyway. I'm really sorry." I was a mess. Dazed and sprawled out on the floor I tried to calm myself down, but even the sight of Andy got me worked up at this point. Next thing I knew she was coming towards me, kneeling between my legs and placing her hands on my shoulders.

"I never told you to stop."

I pushed her back, now holding her against the floor by her shoulders. "Before I get carried away, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She replied, lacing her fingers and pulling them behind my neck.

"Do you love me?"

She smiled, and a faint blush covered her cheeks. "Of course I do. I love you."

I flopped down beside her on the floor and pulled her close to me, tears spilling from my eyes. Once again I kissed her, happiness flooding through me. When I pulled away to look at her and met those gorgeous purple eyes I said, "I think that's enough for tonight. Do you want to move to the bed and get some sleep?"

"No," she said, pulling me closer to her, "I want to stay right here."

I reached over and threw a blanket over the both of us, and in our intimate embrace, we fell asleep.

'_That night was the first time she told me she loved me, and about a year and a half later we got engaged. It was only a couple of months before you and Thomas came onto my ship, and a little bit after Maya joined the crew. I was so happy. I'll never experience another time in my life where I'm as happy as I was then. But then, a couple months after you two left my ship… everything went to Hell._'


	9. Chapter 9

"Captain! They're back!" My navigator Taylor yelled from the crow's nest.

"Tch, do they ever stop following us?" I groaned, climbing up to her from the party on the deck. She handed me the telescope and I looked at the other ship, expecting to see the bothersome Captain Sedin giving his crew a pep talk. Something seemed off about the atmosphere of the ship when I saw red splattered everywhere.

"What the hell?"

I took a closer look, and some strange men were walking around his deck. Whatever had happened, it most likely meant bad news for us.

"Girls! Get ready to fight! Foreign ship coming off the starboard stern! Andy, ready the cannons! Betty, load the rifles! Taylor, lower the sails! Maya, gather the swords! Sue, prepare the sick bay! This one's gonna be bad!" I swung down to the main deck and continued barking orders, working alongside them to get everything in order. Nothing was going to happen to my girls.

'_We were drinking that night. It was our full moon party, and we had all gotten carried away.' My clenched fists trembled in my lap thinking about what was to come, but I wasn't going to chicken out of saying it. 'If it hadn't been for Taylor keeping a lookout, my ship would have been destroyed._'

We had just managed to scramble together as they reached us, but before our deck even met theirs, cannonballs flew from an extremely close range. Men burlier than any others I had ever seen poured onto my ship, murderous lust in their eyes as they came at us with swords.

"Get em, girls! We won't lose tonight!"

'_It was horrifying. My precious girls were screaming, crying, calling out for each other, but there was nothing I could do. The battle was hardly one at all, just a blur of sweat and clashing metal. I felt humiliated, my crew I had worked so hard to create was defeated so easily._'

"My my, what do we have here? A bunch of filthy whores on a ship? Where are your men, shouldn't they be out here?" The captain was a repulsive man. His facial hair was matted and unkempt, bushy with things I didn't want to question tangled in it. He had big, meaty, sausage-like fingers that stroked his filthy beard, in turn making it oily. His hair was in a braid trailing down his back.

The clothes he wore were more suited for some type of navy general rather than a pirate, made of navy blue felt and gold cufflinks. His buttons were gold as well, along with most other minute parts of his top suit. For pants, they were simply white.

He and his crew were bloodstained and reeked of both alcohol and iron.

"No men own us!" Betty snapped, fighting against the two men that held her.

The captain stopped before her, meeting her eyes and keeping a calm expression for several seconds. With a swiftness I had never seen before his foot violently kicked her jaw, making her go limp for several seconds.

"Betty! No!" Sue cried, furiously trying to reach her.

"You all are a troublesome bunch. Which of you is the leader of this traveling whore house?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"That'd be me." I replied, attempting to act unphased by the unfolding events.

He brought his foot down over my head, pressing it against the deck. "You should know better, little bitch. It's bad luck to have a woman on a ship. It's almost as if you were asking for something to happen."

I stayed quiet.

Andy was sobbing, something that I hadn't seen her do since our last time in Moldor. It was crushing; I had promised to never make her cry.

"Men, why don't we teach these whores a lesson?"

'_It didn't seem real. Something like this would never happen, it's impossible. The whole time I was thinking it was a sick dream. Only after things started getting bad did I realize, this was reality. Cruel, twisted, sinful reality. They were monstrous, picking on my newest crewmate first. Maya had finally accepted us- she was starting to see us as her family. I'll never forgive myself for betraying her trust in me._

_I loved her like she was my own daughter. She liked books and appreciated quiet company. We used to meditate together, you know? Every so often she'd study in the navigation room with me. At one point we wrote a book together. Maya showed her love for us in a funny way, but the fact that she even spent time with us, laughed with us, came to parties which she loathed… She must have really cared about us. I remember that day, she held her own in the fight with those men. Where she was from, her family was descended from an ancient ninja clan. She was a mean enemy with those nunchucks._'

The screams that came out of her mouth leaked terror and the sickening excitement of the men made the air around suffocating. Maya, sweet little nineteen-year-old Maya was violated in ways no one should ever experience in any lifetime.

They threw her to the side and moved on to the next. I, as the captain, was forced to watch as my girls screamed and cried, thrashed against their vile touch with no hope of getting away. Useless I was, unable to prevent my crew from getting hurt. Worthless captain, disgrace to pirates. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't be getting hurt.

Everything changed in an instant. There was a clamor to the side of us, and the glint of a dagger shown in the moonlight. I had turned my head just in time to watch the shining blade splatter crimson across my deck. There was a dull thud, and a lifeless face looked right back at me.

"Maya…" I breathed. "Maya… Maya…"

'_I watched her throat get slit. I watched the life drain from her eyes. My daughter, my newest crew member was gone. For no reason. But, you'd say she was the lucky one. She went quickly. Over the span of several hours, our willpower gave out. With Maya's death weighing heavy and her body left cold on the deck, nothing seemed real. The men got bored and turned to even darker methods of entertainment. Our screams were ecstasy to them. They couldn't get enough._'

"Andy, are you okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah… are you?"

"I'm fine. We need to get out of this."

"How? And what about Maya?"

"There's nothing left to do about Maya, but we need to escape before anyone else gets hurt."

"Agreed."

'_Andy and I made a plan. While they were switching girls, we'd turn their weapons against them. They were off guard and we injured a few, even pushed some into the ocean… But that just pissed them off more. They started becoming inhumane, cutting off limbs, violating them even after that. And it was my fault for calling the order._

_I can still remember Sue, missing an arm and half of her leg. Naked and near death she crawled to Maya. She held her, kissing her head and crying. The last words she ever said to me were, 'This is your fault.' Then she turned to Maya and said, 'I'll see you soon.'_

Tears leaked from my eyes as I talked, but I was insistent on keeping my tone even.

'_Sue was the doctor on my ship. She was spunky and impulsive, a bit immature and always smiling. I remember she had a thing for long hair, and would spend her free time braiding our hair. She was a bit oxymoronic as well, fretting over her makeup and trying to put it on the rest of us, but at the same time it was impossible to get her in the shower. Dirt was equal to makeup. She had a weird thing about feet, so we couldn't take our shoes off around her._

_I remember she liked to dance a lot, and she would drag Maya into it. Back where she came from she was a famous boxer, and did gymnastics to keep herself fit. Maya found it admirable. Sue was in love with Maya, platonically, and shared everything with her. If she wasn't aromantic or asexual, and Sue wasn't heterosexual, they'd never stop touching each other._'

Andy and I hadn't been touched, which bothered me. I understood they wanted me to watch, but why was Andy being forced to as well? It's not as if I wanted her to get hurt, but the fact that she wasn't, didn't make any sense.

Taylor sat propped against the railing of the ship, blood dribbling from her lips. They had twisted her foot backward and crushed it, making it a bloody mass below her ankle. She had a deep gash from one of the men's swords near her ribs. She looked up at me blankly and gave a small smile before slumping over.

Betty, the last one alive, was screaming her lungs out. She had been violated the most, being the youngest out of all of us. There were major abrasions on the left side of her face, and her ribs had been crushed. If I remember correctly, her right leg was twisted the wrong way.

"Shut her up." The captain snarled.

"Betty!" I breathed. Andy looked at me desperately as she fought against the men restraining her, but before we could do anything the screaming had stopped.

Something rolled towards us, and as it got closer we realized it was Betty's disembodied head.

'_The other girls… They all went in pain. Now, it was our turn. Those men took us back to my bedroom, and on the way, Andy had told me, 'There's nothing we can do. If we don't fight, we might survive this.' She told me to watch as these bastards did things that I'd never get to do. They did it without permission, while I'd wait until we got married._'

Andy did not scream, or resist. She let those men do what they wanted and I had to watch every second of it. Then they got violent.

'_The instant Andy screamed I went berserk, breaking free from the man holding me and grabbing the nearest sword off the ground. Andy fought with me. How many men I killed still remains unknown to me. All I remember is having someone jump on my back before I was restrained again._'

"Anna! Anna! Help me!" She screamed, reaching for me.

"Andy! Let go of me bastard!" I yelled, fighting against the men pulling me back.

The Captain of the other ship grabbed Andy by the ponytail and shoved his sword through her back. I screamed for her, fighting furiously, but all willpower faded as the blade sliced her neck.

Andy was dead, and it was my fault.

'_When Andy died, there was no reason left for me to live. Everything was my fault. If I had tried harder, Andy may have never gotten into a gang. If I had been smarter, I might have gotten some men on my crew. If I was stronger… I might have been able to protect them. All of it is my fault. Everyone would have been better off without me. If it wasn't for me, so many people would still be alive._'

The Captain sent everyone away, back to his own ship for a party. It was just us. He treated me tenderly, but every spot he touched was filled with pain. Andy laid several feet away, lifeless. I wanted to die.

He held me by my hair and traced my neck with the tip of his sword. Then, with a silent swing, he brought it down.

Locks of my hair fell onto the ground, those remaining on my head reaching no further than my chin. The tips were coated in her blood.

"This is all your fault, you know." He said, tracing my jawline with his meaty fingers. He moved behind me, pulling off my overcoat and holding my shoulders. His lips trailed down my neck, pulling at the collar of my shirt. "You should come with us, on my ship. That bitch didn't suit you anyway. I can make everyday fun, just the two of us."

The dagger from his belt was plunged into his eye by my hand, causing him to bellow a thunderous scream and crash against my dresser. Footsteps flooded onto my deck, and I took hold of my own sword.

'_Somehow, I killed them. Some got away, but not unscathed. I rolled the men's bodies into the sea; how I slaughtered them all without dying myself was like some kind of cruel joke. I laid my girls on the deck, and for a long time, I just laid with them. Not once did I eat, I only slept and cried._

_Eventually, I came upon an island. I don't remember why I got up and pulled the ship in, but I did. I buried them there. The locals helped me and didn't ask any questions. They fed me, housed me, and took care of me. They called me Pulchunii. It was on that island I found out what living was about. There was an old man everyone called Deda, and he was ninety-three years old. Everybody told me that he was sick and that he was going to pass soon. Every day he would say, 'Ja sam sretan, ja sam živ, nisam bolestan.' That means I'm happy. I'm alive. I'm not sick._

_Deda's wife had died almost a year prior, and his kids were killed when hunting boars. He didn't have anyone to live for either but didn't matter to him… I was so entranced by the thought that you can live for yourself rather than for other people. Deda gave me some advice before I left. If you only live for other people, you're going to get hurt. You need to find value in yourself, so after everyone is gone you won't want to disappear._'

"Deda, were you sad when your wife and kids died?" I asked him.

"Of course I was. They were my family, and I loved them very much. It was hard to lose that familiarity and routine… But it's okay. It will hurt, yes, but it won't be as bad as time goes on. The pain will fade and memories will disappear. You won't forget them, no, but it's up to you which memories you keep."

'_Before I left, I placed a protection charm the graves. The tribe leader showed me how, taught me the ways of the words and their individual significance. Finally, when I was about to part with them, the tribe leader cast the charm upon me._'

"Zbogom, i hvala vam!" I waved from my ship.

"Najbolji od sreća za vas, Pulchunii."

'Goodbye, and thank you. Best of luck to you, Pulchunii.'

"…From that day on I just sailed. I got together a new crew, lost some, gained some... I worked my hardest to get stronger, smarter, more powerful… Any heist, theft, or anything else to get my bounty up, I did it. No matter how stupid it was or if it might have got me killed. Every book in every library about any subject having to do with fact, I've read it. Mathematics, science, philosophy… I learned new languages and net new people. Everything I did was to be better. Now, there's no one in the world stronger than me. Not one person exists in this world that knows the map better than I do. Everyone on the sea knows Captain Jones, captain of the Bonnibelle. Now, my bounty is more than triple the esteemed Pirate King's."

I paused for a minute, taking a deep breath, and straightening myself up. Nathan was listening quietly and hadn't said a word the entire time I was talking.

"But I'll never forgive myself no matter how much I improve. It was my fault those girls died. That's something that will never change."

Nathan shifted a bit, leaning on his hand and looking at me. He seemed to know that I had more to say.

"…It's been five years since then. I've paid for Andy's family to live in the elite section of Moldor, have house staff, and even have her brothers and sister go to school. With some of my connections I got Betty's family a new bakery, and they now cater the royal family's events. For Taylor's family, they run a hotel with a hot spring. It has a view at night that's so pretty, people try to break in just to get a glimpse of it. Sue's family has a major hospital near her hometown and now have access to some of the best healthcare treatments in the world. And for Maya… Her family has dojos all over the world. Their fighting style has been widely adopted as martial arts. I've done a lot for them, yes, but I'll never compensate enough for the loss of their daughters. Never in a million, billion, trillion years."

"Anna."

I turned, and Morgan stood behind me.

"You don't need to say any more."

Dantalion flew in and sat on my leg, snuggling just under my chin.

"Yeah. That's enough for now."

Someone's arms wrapped around me from behind, making me flinch. "We love you, Miss Anna."

"…I love you guys too."

The next day I woke up underneath red covers, soft and warm. They smelled faintly of alcohol and I sat up, looking around Morgan's room. He had cleaned up at one point, the floor being void of empty bottles.

The scent of meat cooking called me to the dining room, where everyone else sat already.

"Mornin, sunshine." Morgan said, smiling at me.

"You're not drinking." I remarked, rubbing my eyes and sitting down. "That's new."

"Well, I was too drunk when listening to ya yesterday, so I'd rather you repeat it when I'm sober."

I threw my hat at him and stood back up, looking at the kohl residue from my eyes. "I'm taking a shower to wipe this shit off."

"Mind if I join you?" Eduardo asked with a mischievous look on his face.

"I'll throw something at you later." I replied, heading out the door.

The shower was warm and welcoming, washing away the mask on my face and leaving me refreshed. For some reason, I felt happy and there was a spring in my step. It was a new day.

When I went back into the dining room everyone was still there, and they hadn't touched their breakfast. By my count, I was in the shower for over half an hour, and if all of them were seated that meant breakfast should have been served less than five minutes after I left.

"What the hell? You guys didn't eat yet?"

"No, Miss Anna. We were waiting for you."

"Y'all coulda eaten without me. I wouldn't have minded."

"Well, that's not very hospitable of us." Christopher said.

"Hospitable?" I mumbled. "Y'all don't need to treat me any different because you know what happened to me. It's all still the same."

"But Anna-"

"But nothing. You guys just eat, I'm not hungry." I said, turning around and storming out. "Dantalion!"

Dantalion flew down from the main mast, and I tied the letter I had written to her leg. "Take this to Benny, and stay until he writes back."

She nodded, as I had trained her to do, and flew off.

I didn't end up going to breakfast that day and spent my time instead working out. I trained my whole body and felt more refreshed than fatigued after, though I was a little sweaty. By the time lunch rolled around, I still didn't want to eat, or rather, I didn't want to be around them. There wasn't anyone else to talk to since I had sent Dantalion away.

After restless wandering I ended up in the navigation room, writing old poetry from memory. The piece that came to mind was one I had written with Maya many years ago, titled Birds of a Feather.

Maya's themes were always simple, but based on one's interpretation, could turn very dark. I was quite fond of her writing style and loved translating her work into different languages. Calligraphy suited it well.

"Hey, are you coming to lunch?" Russell asked from the doorway.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"You didn't eat breakfast."

I turned to face him. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

He seemed a bit reluctant but left anyway.

No longer was I interested in writing, and I left the half-finished poem on the table. A little wandering had me end up in the sick bay.

I shuffled through cabinets and medications until I stumbled upon a drawer full of paper with indistinctive scribbles on them. When I looked closer, I could make out numbers and little annotations. To me, at least, it looked interesting.

It turned out to be research, and I understood a surprising majority of it. Doc's evidence and proof backed up his conclusions extremely well, and his experiments proved successful over 70%. He was an actual genius in the medical field. I studied them and made sure to memorize everything down to the exact punctuation, the last decimal.

"So I see you found my research."

I jumped. "Oh, sorry. I just got bored."

"It's okay, you can read them. They're not private or anything." Christopher said, placing a small plate on the desk next to me.

"It's really thorough," I commented, leafing through the pages. "It must have taken years to get this much information."

"Yeah," he said, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck, "This is my life's work."

"Will you ever share it with hospitals?"

"Yeah, probably. I just want to make sure it will be shared rather than hoarded and patented, or destroyed completely."

I was quiet for a minute, then spoke cautiously. "Deda… Deda was sick. He had St. Anthony's fire, the devil's fire. It got really bad, and he died less than a week after I left. If I had been smarter back then, I may have been able to save him."

"You know how to cure devil's fire?"

"Sort of. I can treat it in the beginning, but when they get really bad you can't pull them back from that."

"Still, that's an amazing feat. Did you share that research?"

"With Sue's family's hospital, yes. It'd be accessible to a lot more people that way. I remember they told me, 'Thank you so much, Annabelle. Not only did you take care of our daughter, but now you're helping us save hundreds, maybe even thousands of lives. How can we ever repay you?' All of their parents and family are like that. For some reason they don't hate me, some even think of me as their own daughter. I don't get it."

"Maybe they don't hate you, and understand it was an accident."

My fists slammed down on the desk is a burst of anger. "It wasn't an accident!" I yelled. "An accident is something that can be prevented. That night wouldn't have happened if I had just been paying attention."

"Nobody was paying attention, it's not your fault."

"I'm the captain! I'm responsible for my crew, and I'm supposed to be the one to go down with the ship! If my crew dies, I'm supposed to die with them!"

"What the hell's all the yelling in here?" Morgan asked, poking his head in.

I stood up and meant to storm out of the sick bay, but Christopher grabbed my wrist.

"Don't run away from this."

"I've run away plenty before. A little more won't kill me."

"Anna, shouldn't you be happy you survived? Their families-"

"Oh fuck off!" I snapped, ripping my hand away from him. "Their families would be a hell of a lot happier if I had never stumbled upon their daughters."

"Anna!" Morgan said firmly, as if he meant to scold me. "That's enough."

"Oh, are you-"

"You're the one that fought back. If you really wanted to save them, you would have fought as hard as you did in the end. If you wanted to die, you wouldn't have fought at all."

His words hit me hard, striking anger in a chord deep within me. My fists trembled as my fingernails dug into my palm. Who the fuck does he think he is, telling me the basis of my life was all an act?

In an instant, everything around me got cold. Darkness overcast my vision, and thoughts started whirring in my head. Why did I fight in the end? Why didn't I fight harder before?

Remembering their grip on my arms made me cringe. Images flashing before my eyes of those men touching, slaughtering my girls infuriated me. Shaking muscles and heavy breathing. Gunpowder and liquor. Crimson streams. Blank eyes and cold bodies.

I did nothing. On this deck, what could I do? My mind wasn't registering the world around me. The constant thump of my heart in my throat reminded me I was alive. Who was beside me? Are they alive? Everything was spinning, I remember. No, what am I remembering? Stop…

Reality slapped me in the face, and time resumed in the sick bay of the Sirius. Morgan stood firmly, and Christopher glanced between us worriedly. There was no noise.

"I couldn't."

"What?"

"Nothing felt real. I couldn't tell who was who, what was what… Everything was black and the world was spinning. But at the same time, I saw everything. It's almost like… I was watching it from somewhere else."

"That doesn't make sense, Anna."

"I don't remember killing any men." I said. I touched my neck gently and said, "There was feeling here, I remember clearly. What happened next was something filled with liquor baited breath and the stench of iron. Then I was on the floor with Andy. She was dead, and I wanted to die too."

Christopher spoke up carefully. "…When someone is in a terrifying situation, or they feel endangered, if the emotion is prominent enough their subconscious will eject itself from the situation. It will put itself into a third person point of view. It's a protective maneuver."

"That makes sense." I replied. "I don't think I wanted to die then. I just wanted revenge."

"What about now?" Morgan asked seriously.

Well... I have a crew to get back to now. But their death was my fault, and I should pay the price for that. I deserve to suffer for the rest of my life. Every excruciating second was what I had been forced into enduring. It was my fault, and this was my punishment.

"I don't want to die. There are people who need me. Besides, I'll see them all again one day."


	10. Chapter 10

It was the day after my almost breakdown, and things were quieter than usual. There was no yelling from the dining room, scraping of boxes from the deck, or general chatter from anywhere. No one was doing early morning training. There was no cooking in the kitchen. No scratching of a quill on parchment. The salty sea air was prominent as usual, but there were no traces of herbs or new medicines anywhere. No lingering scent of liquor. Deafening silence, no one to say good morning.

No one.

Breakfast was left on the table. The deck had been cleaned. The navigation room had been organized.

But there was still no one.

Noon was approaching, and the ship was now approaching a straight in the expressway. I set the sails myself and set the ship in the right direction.

Lunch time was rolling around soon. Their breakfast sat cold and untouched on the table. With no one else, I cleaned it up.

_Anna_, they say. _Miss Anna_, he says. _Annabelle_, he says.

_Miss Anna, why don't you smile anymore? You have such a lovely smile…_

_We just haven't looked hard enough! She's still here!_

Why do you care about me? Why don't you hate me?

_Annabelle! It's so great to see you!_

_Really!? We can go to school and get smart like you!?_

Why are you smiling at me? Why are you being friendly?

_Lemme carry it._

_Ya wouldn't shut up until I talked to ya, smilin and tryin to figure out what I liked and whatnot._

_We're stuck with a lazy ass, loudmouth woman that doesn't know her place! Why the hell do we have to suffer because of your impulse decision!?_

_Eduardo! That's out of line!_

Why did you defend me? He was telling the truth. He hated me. That's how it was supposed to be.

_We love you, Miss Anna._

…Why?

_As long as my mates are taken care of, my ship is clean, and there's treasure to look for, I'm fine._

I spat on the deck below me.

_Liar._

"Annabelle!"

I flinched and dropped the fork in my hand. It clattered on the floor and I felt somewhat dazed. "Huh? What?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? You've been spacey all morning." Eduardo snapped. "You look like a dead fish."

"Hmm… That's nice…" I replied, reaching for my fork. "You know, resting bitch face over here's been squeaky lately. Do we need to stop on land for some rags and cotton?"

"What the fuck did you just say to me!?"

"I'm sorry you're experiencing the pain of womanhood, is there anything I can do for you? Get you a hot pad and rub your back for you? Want me to make you some sweet chocolate?"

(A/N): Before pads and tampons, women would use wads of cotton or rags to deal with periods.

His fist flew at me with unexpected speed, but I quickly grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto the dining table.

"It'll take a lot more than that to land a hit on me. You should know that better than anyone, bitch face."

"Anna, stop it!" Christopher exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.

I glared at Eduardo, keeping a firm grip on his arm no he couldn't move an inch. "Tch." Reluctantly I left the dining room, leaving everyone behind. I didn't want to hear anything from anyone. This ship was driving me insane. My crew needed me. I needed them. Someone, even Dantalion would offer me solace at the moment. Anyone but these people.

My fist drove through an empty box, but I used hardly any strength at all. It wasn't satisfying. Still, I was uneasy, anxious, dare I say frightened. Adrenaline had me in its clutches, sending my heart rate into a frenzy and my nerves to their wits end.

"Anna, are you okay?"

"Get out!" I screamed, throwing a box in the direction of the voice. "Leave me alone!"

"What the hell is her problem now?"

My problem? You all are my problem!

"She's stressed." Morgan said.

What?

"There's no mistaking it. She's stressed out and taking it out on us."

"What could she be stressed about?" Thomas asked.

My crew! Leywei, Pirate King Title, the possible war over said title, the sudden revelations of my crew. For god's sake, I'm harboring a kid wanted by the Red Tears, and a runaway prince! No wonder I'm freaking out!

Jacob and Tyler's faces appeared before me. They both had big smiles on their faces and seemed so happy. Those two have a lot of explaining to do when I see them again.

But the kid brother of the prince… The possibility of it being Thomas wasn't zero. They did look alike, and Thomas's reactions to Leywei were convincing. He might be questioning it himself.

I clenched my teeth and threw another box, letting out a scream as I did so. "This is no time to be acting like a bitch!" Another box exploded against the wall as I yelled, "I am Captain Annabelle Jones, what the fuck am I doing!?" My foot shattered a helpless crate beneath it and I pointed to Thomas. "Are you Jacob's younger brother, second in line for the throne of Moldor!?"

He stared right at my fingertip, wide-eyed, shock seeping out of his pores. "I… I don't know…"

I kicked a box, having it shatter just beside him. "Answers like that don't cut it! Your village was burned down by rogue pirates, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"And that was ten years ago, right?"

"Yes, but-!"

"And you look exactly like my navigator Jacob, correct!?"

Thomas was quiet but spoke weakly after a long pause. "Yes."

"That's all the proof I need." I said, swishing my coat back and going up the stairs. I didn't really go anywhere, really I just ended up pacing on the deck muttering to myself.

The facts: Dantalion left me three days ago. That means by tomorrow my crew should be sailing towards Moldor. So there's four days left before I get any word back, and one week before we reach the end of the branching current. An island should pop up by tomorrow or the day after, where we should quickly stock up and leave. Moldor will be in our reach within two days of my crew.

Dantalion is fast. She'll definitely be able to deliver my next letter before they meet the Sirius again. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind. Things will go my way, whether they want to or not!

Whatever enthusiasm I had mustered with my newest freakout, it stuck with me. My anxiety disappeared, and I felt in control of things. That made my moods a bit less dramatic as well, which mellowed out the whole atmosphere of the ship. Eddy was still pissed, though.

I had a fairly lengthy conversation with Thomas about his parents and I managed to fit several pieces together. The pirate raid was most likely an actual raid rather than a ploy since no one supposedly knew where the island was.

Now all that was left to do was to talk to Christopher.

Sometime after dinner, I waited in the infirmary, playing around with Dantalion's feather as the tabletop clock ticked in the corner. I thought of turning the feather into a quill and keeping it in my hat, but then I thought there weren't any quill knives around. The feather itself would make a highly valued quill, strong and curved slightly. It was big, as quills should be.

{...}

Christopher entered the infirmary some time later and found Annabelle asleep at the table. Her hat had fallen to the floor, and the black feather it recently adorned lay limply in her open hand. There was a piece of parchment with one scribbled line, and he leaned over to read it.

'I'm sorry I'm such a bitch.'

He laughed.

{...}

When I woke it was dark out. The only sounds I heard were my own breathing and the ocean waves crashing against the ship. The note I had written fell to the floor as I sat up, along with a blanket that slid off my shoulders. I picked up the note and read, 'It's okay.'

On the bow I stood clutching the blanket, thinking. No, that's a lie. I was relaxing, giving my thoughts a break and letting my stress levels chill out. There's no reason for me to acting like a bitch- I have a plan for anything and everything that might happen.

As I began to calm down, the water looked familiar.

When the men of the Sirius woke they gathered in the dining room, as usual, half asleep and wondering what the day would bring. Nathan emerged from the kitchen with egg rolls and miso soup. Christopher had requested natto once more, and Eduardo asked for his typical peach yogurt.

"Where's Anna?" Nathan asked.

"She might still be sleeping in the infirmary. I went in a bit late last night and found her sleeping at my desk." Christopher replied.

"I'll go get her." Thomas said, standing up. No one rejected, and he left the dining room.

"Miss Anna! Where are… we?"

Thomas stood baffled. Instead of sailing the open ocean on the expressway, they were parked at an island with a lowered anchor and hoisted sails.

"Guys, you might want to come see this!" He called.

The Sirius men joined him on the ship, and everyone heard Nathan mutter, "Damn it, Anna."

"_Pulchunii, how are you now?_" The village elder asked me.

"_Better. I have a new crew who all care about me very much. But right now I'm trapped on another ship._"

"_How undesirable. How did you end up here then?_"

"_Well I woke up very early, and I noticed we were around here. I steered the ship by myself while everyone was asleep. Actually, they should be eating breakfast right about now_."

"_Will you get in trouble?_"

"_I might get scolded, but they won't cause any major damage. I told them about my time here._"

"_You must have told them about Deda._" He said, smiling sweetly.

"_Yes, I did. Deda and I shared a strong bond._"

"_You two sure did. You have felt the same feelings in a different time of life. No bond is made stronger than the ones formed at your lowest._"

I was quiet and sipped the steaming herbal tea.

"_Did you visit their graves?_"

I swallowed and lowered the bowl. "_No. I want to take them with me tonight._"

The village elder nodded. "_You want them to see_."

"…_Yeah. I think that might give me closure_."

"_Just seeing will not give you closure, child. Do not waste this chance just to see._"

"_Yes, sir._"

"_Pulchunii! Pulchunii! They're coming!" A group of kids called, running to me from the forest. "They saw us! They're almost here!_"

"_Thank you, guys. Without you, they would have gotten lost._"

The kids gave a group attempt of thanks and ran off to catch bugs.

"_Pulchunii?_"

I turned and saw Taku, a man around my age that discovered my ship four years ago. When I was unresponsive and nearly dead, he carried me back to this village and nursed me back to health. He saved my life.

"_Taku!_" I exclaimed, a smile almost breaking out on my face. "_It's so great to see you!_"

He hugged me and said, "_With that angry look on your face it doesn't seem like it._"

I punched his arm lightly and said, "_Shut up. Who wouldn't be happy to see the person who saved their life?_"

"_Oh please, that again? I didn't do that much._"

"_Oh please, yourself. Do you know how many times I woke up to you sleeping at my bedside, wet towel in hand? You busted your ass getting me healthy._"

"_Alright, yeah. I guess I am pretty amazing._"

"Miss Anna!"

I was attacked from behind and almost fell over, but caught myself. A blubbering Thomas clung to my torso, followed by the rest of the crew.

"Every time I close my eyes you get us into some new disaster." Eduardo groaned.

"That's my specialty." I replied. "Boys, this is Taku." Quickly I switched languages and said, "_Taku, this is the pirate crew that is currently holding me somewhat captive. They make me cry a lot._"

"That's some introduction," Christopher laughed, "but I guess it's kind of true."

"Wait, you understand the language?" I asked.

"A little bit. I can pick out certain words and piece them together."

"_Pulchunii, are you sure you weren't trying to run away from them when you ended up here?"_ Taku asked, putting a protective arm around my shoulders.

"_I don't believe so, but the subconscious works in mysterious ways._"

Taku glared at the men, but Thomas didn't notice. "Miss Anna," he asked, "is this that island you were talking about?"

I responded in English. "Yes, this is the island Deda lived on. I know a lot of people here."

"_You spent a few months with us. It's not hard to know everyone in that little amount of time._"

"_Oh! Is Tetkica around?_" Enthusiasm dripped from my words as I looked up at him.

"_Would you like me to go get her?_"

"_Yes, please!_"

Taku left a bit reluctantly.

"Who the hell is that?" Nathan asked.

"That's Taku. He saved my life years ago." I looked at them seriously. "I want us to stay here until tonight. We can stock up and stuff from the food here, but tonight I need to take you guys somewhere." My words were mostly directed at Morgan since no one would go against his order. "Please."

Morgan sighed and said, "How can I say no to a face like that?"

The day flew by fast. A long time I spent catching up with the elders, and at one point in the day I became the island arm wrestling champion. The Sirius crew seemed very interested in the island and its people, which made me ecstatic. Finally, the sun began to set and I gathered the crew.

"_Pulchunii! Wait for me!_" Taku yelled, running towards us with a pack on his shoulders. When he was next to me he said, "I want to come with you."

"_Why?_"

"_I want to see them again, too._"

The path to their graves was an uphill hike, but it was a breeze for everyone in our group. No one complained and we got there just before the sun ducked behind the hills.

Five gravestones stood erect, well-kept and clean. There were no cracks in the stone and the writing was still clearly visible. Taku opened the pack and placed flowers on every grave, whispering a few words and placing the pack back on his shoulders.

"Okay, let me introduce you guys. This is my chef Betty, my doctor Sue, my navigator Taylor, the rookie Maya… and this is my wife, Andrea."

I looked up, and they looked back at me.

"Um… do you guys want to introduce yourselves too?"

"Let's introduce ourselves properly to the ladies." Morgan said.

I grabbed his hand and bowed my head, the rest of the men following suit. "Girls, it's great to see you again. I'd like to introduce you properly to some men you've met before. To my right is Pirate King Morgan, Eduardo, Nathan, Christopher, Russell, and Thomas. You've met them before. Taku is last; he saved my life a little after you girls died."

I left a bit of silence in case anyone wanted to say anything, but no one spoke up.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to them a bit." I said to the boys. "A girl to girl conversation."

They understood and stepped back.

I got on my knees before the graves, clasping my hands together and looking at the ground. For several seconds I didn't say anything. Finally, I decided to speak. "Maya, do you remember how at your old dojo the main sign would always break? Well, now the sign is brand new. It's made of cherry wood and is bolted with titanium. Your mom told me last time I saw her, 'Our following has passed one million! One whole million and over one thousand dojos!'" I laughed a little bit. "I guess you wouldn't believe me, but now martial arts is practiced worldwide. Say, Taylor, did you know your parents run that little-abandoned hotel on the mountain? They turned it into a hot spring resort. And Sue, your parents now own a major hospital leading in disease research. Betty, did you know your parents work in an upscale bakery and cater the royal family's events?"

Silence settled before the graves as I turned to Andy's.

"…Do you remember… the old mansion we used to play in with those boys? They'd be the bandits stealing treasure, and we'd be the police chasing them? Well, I fixed it up and put in a big garden for your mom. There're so many rooms our brothers and sister can play hide and seek all day. Cameron started school last year, you know? Samuel wants to be a painter, and Makaila is really good at math. Dad got a job as a craftsman, and he really likes woodwork." I was quiet again and spoke softly. "That spring I told you I loved you… do you remember? How the cherry blossom petals were all over the treehouse? How the sun was just barely setting, and the sky was streaked with gold and crimson? Do you remember the night that you told me you loved me, how the next morning all the girls screamed over our laced hands? Betty, do you remember when you tried to teach me how to bake, and the cookies came out too puffy? Maya, do you remember when we wrote 'Time and Time Again'? Taylor, do you remember when that creep kept touching your hair, and you smashed a beer mug over his head and started a bar fight? Don't you remember when everyone got smallpox, and you had to rush into port to get the right herbs? Do you remember saving our lives even though you were sick too, Sue? Don't you guys remember?"

My voice was shaky, and the ground below me was blurry.

"What did you girls do today? Are you still all together, or did you go separate ways? Are you listening, or are you not hearing a word?" I gripped the grass tightly, biting my lip hard and trying to keep my composure. "Are you girls mad at me? Do you hate me for letting you die like that? Are you mad at me for saving myself? Sue, you hate me, right? You told me, you said so. Andy, you must be mad at me. If I hadn't fought back, in the end, you'd… you'd still be alive… you'd be here with me, instead of in the ground." Tears dripped onto the dirt and the top of my hands as I spoke. "It was all my fault… All of it… was my fault…"

Something touched my shoulder, and as I looked up my eyes went wide.

"We don't hate you, Captain."

"Betty…" I breathed.

She kneeled before me and smiled widely. "We could never hate you after everything you've done for us!"

"But-!"

"She's right," Taylor said, sitting on her tombstone with her legs crossed. "You gave us a home when we had no one else."

"Yeah!" Sue exclaimed. "I've been turning in my grave since I said that to you! Literally!"

"Sue… Taylor…"

Maya sat beside Betty and grabbed my hand. "It's not your fault."

"Maya… Girls, I'm so, so sorry…"

"Don't be. We did the best we could. Those men were too strong, and we were no match for them." Betty said.

"But I'm the Captain… I should have died first trying to protect you girls…"

"There's nothing we could have done about that either." Taylor said.

"I just… feel so guilty, all the time…"

Maya held my hand a little tighter and said quietly, "Those left behind often feel sadness and guilt, but nothing can stop them once they learn they should not waste the life that has been spared. Instead of wasting another, live for those that were lost."

"Maya…"

Everything was quiet for a minute when a familiar voice spoke.

"We don't hate you. We love you, Captain."

I looked up.

"I love you, Anna."

I ran to her, jumping and having her catch me. I was hugging her, actually hugging the love of my life I had lost four years ago. She was holding me, her warmth on my skin more real than any nightmare. She was here.

"Andy…"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Andy. I love you so, so much…"

"I don't hate you."

"Okay."

"I really love you."

"I love you too."

"You did what I wanted you to do. I screamed because I realized that no matter what we were going to die, so we might as well go out swinging."

"But I didn't die."

"I know. I knew you would live."

"Why?"

"Because I wouldn't be there to hold you back."

"What are you talking about?"

"You'd never kill anyone in front of me. That's just the kind of person you are."

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Exactly what you did. It makes me so happy knowing you're still alive."

"But Andy… I'm so alone without you…"

She put her hands on my shoulders and looked at me. "No, you're not. You have your crew, the Sirius, and this island. And you have us."

"Yeah! We'd never leave you behind!" Betty exclaimed.

"Girls..."

"Say, Captain, I heard you don't smile anymore! Your smile is so pretty! Why'd you stop?" Sue asked.

"How can I smile without you guys?"

Andy put her hand on my cheek and said, "You're strong, Anna. You can smile through anything. I believe in you."

"Andy…"

"Yeah! You can do it, Captain!" Betty said, pumping her fists up in the air. "Fight!" She yelled.

"We believe in you, Captain." Taylor said.

They all stood together with smiles on their faces, and for a second I thought I was going to smile back. Then, they started to fade.

"Bye bye!" Betty said as she waved.

"Wait… wait, don't leave me!" I said, grabbing Andy's hands tightly.

"We can't stay forever." Maya said.

"No! Don't leave me again!"

"We'll never leave, Captain. We'll always be with you." Sue said.

They all disappeared, and Andy was fading fast.

"Anna." She said.

"Don't leave…" I pleaded.

"I love you." She kissed me, and with her last breath she said, "Goodbye."

Then, she was gone forever.

I reached for her but there was nothing there. She was just here, but there was nothing. Her warmth lingered on my lips, but she was gone.

My knees hit the dirt, and I stared blankly at the cold tombstone. "I don't want it to be goodbye."


	11. Chapter 11

Taku and Nathan had a bit of tension between them, but I wasn't in any position to notice. In fact, I couldn't even walk by myself at this point. Everything was spinning and I couldn't form words correctly; all that came out was incoherent mumbling. My thoughts were jumbled together and moving slow, but at the same time racing in circles. I felt sick.

Nathan carried me on his back as I mumbled, the only solid word being Andy. He did not complain.

Once in the village, they took me to the doctor's office and I don't remember anything after that.

When I woke it was morning, and the ground did not rock like it usually did. I was confused, but when I sat up in the familiar little hut everything crashed down on me. My eyelids were heavy.

I walked outside and the light made my head hurt, but I didn't want to be alone. Then I realized I didn't want to be around people either.

Wherever I ended up was quiet, and the sound of water was calming to me. I sat and listened.

Then I slept.

_Those left behind often feel sadness and guilt, but nothing can stop them once they learn they should not waste the life that has been spared. Instead of wasting another, live for those that were lost._

Live for those that were lost…

I went to the village temple, resting before the altar of the gods. Before me stood a statue of the god of harvest, Zetva. They were portrayed as very generous and friendly, but when they were crossed they became merciless. Entire regions could become bare in less than one rainy season. Thousands of people would die.

Beside them was the god of Sun. She was a powerful god, but the kindest and most understanding. Always she worked to provide sunlight to the people, so the other gods could do their jobs. Her name was Svjetlo.

There were many more statues, each having their own altar. Every single one had some type of offering on it, which I found somewhat heartwarming.

"Anna? Are you in here?"

"Yeah." I replied.

Footsteps echoed in the hall, and I did not turn as they stopped next to me.

Briavi, the god of love and compassion stood before us. His statue was made of pink marble and polished to its full glory.

The pink marble was appealing to me. Honestly, I thought it was perfect; regal and sturdy while channeling an air of flamboyance and romance.

"The statue is pretty big for a goddess of love." Nathan said.

"It's not a goddess. They're portrayed as a god."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's not just a god of love either. This is Briavi, the god of emotion and feeling."

"…That's nice."

"Yeah."

The ship would be leaving at sundown, so I spent my time having a private conversation with the graves. Everything I had ever wanted to say was said. I knew they were listening, and that offered me a lot of solace.

The sun was inching towards the mountains, so I made the long trek back to the village.

"Miss Anna! Are you ready?" Thomas asked, running up to me.

"Yeah, I don't have anything left to do. Are we all stocked up?"

"Yes. Eduardo and Nathan are loading up the rest of the supplies too."

"Okay. Do I have enough time for a few quick goodbyes?"

"Yeah, sundown is in about half an hour. Just don't run off again." Morgan said.

"Aye aye!"

The goodbyes I gave were just as emotional as the first time I left, and tears were apparent more than once. But for some reason, I couldn't find Taku. Tetkica told me he had gone into the forest the night before and hadn't returned.

"_Please tell him that I said goodbye, and thank you._"

"_I will_." She replied, hugging me again.

I helped the men finish loading the ship, then lingered on the beach before the anchor was pulled.

"Is something wrong?" Morgan asked.

"Taku wouldn't let me leave without saying goodbye. That's not like him."

"We don't have all the time in the world to wait for your boyfriend. Either you stay, or leave right now." Eduardo snapped.

I looked back at the dense forest one last time, then started towards the ship.

"_Pulchunii!_"

Taku exploded through the branches and brush, stumbling on the beach before the ship.

"_You're late_."

"_I thought you left already_." He said, walking towards me.

"_You almost missed me_."

His bare feet shuffled on the sand, and he held his hands behind his back. Hesitantly he brought them forward, and my heart dropped.

"_Taku…_" I breathed. "_Is that why you left last night?_"

"_I didn't know when you were leaving, or else I would have gone sooner_."

"Doc, what's goin' on?" Russell asked.

"I don't know."

"_So, Pulchunii,_" Taku continued, "_no, Annabelle… Will you stay with me?_"

"_Taku, I… I don't know what to say…_"

"_Say you won't go._"

I was quiet as Taku placed the flower behind my ear.

"_If you stay, you'll never feel alone again. I'll make sure that you're never sad or lonely. I can treat you better than anyone else._"

I didn't respond to him for a long time, and the silence of the crew remained unbroken. The serious atmosphere told them not to speak.

"_Anna, will you marry me?_"

{...}

Thousands of miles away, on a ship devoid of its captain, all hell was uncomfortably close to breaking loose. The crew had to eat at separate times to avoid fights, and work had been piling up left and right. Dust bunnies had created a glorious empire in every nook and cranny of the ship, even raiding the open by forming a solid blanket on the floor. Rats scurried about in the open, unbothered by the other inhabitants. Windows were left untouched, as well as the bathroom. Simple cleaning duty was ignored as a responsibility for a ridiculous amount of time. Everything and everyone was filthy, inside and out.

Ian had locked himself in the kitchen, spitting out meals when asked but otherwise unresponsive. Michael was a drunken disaster, knocking things over ad threatening fights lift and right. Benjamin became a ball of negativity, snapping when spoken to and constantly scowling. Tyler became the thorn in everyone's side, acting like a rebellious adolescent and constantly badmouthing the captain. Jacob had been driven to his wit's end trying to keep everyone together, followed by itching paranoia as his greatest fear trailed his every thought.

One morning everything was relatively quiet as some men were sleeping, and those that weren't, did nothing particularly noisy. There was noise on the ship, however none of the men were making it.

Tap tap tap, scratch scratch, tap-

The door to Benjamin's door slammed open and clacked against the wall behind it. "Who the fuck is making all this noise!?" He exclaimed, bubbling with anger.

Dantalion squawked with attitude, flying up and waving the letter in his face.

He swatted at the bird, yelling, "Whose crazy ass bird is this!? Tell it to-"

His yelling fell short as he spotted the ring around Dantalion's claw. Hastily he snatched the letter and skimmed over it. "Captain..." He breathed. "Everyone, gather in the dining room now! We've got orders from Captain Jones!"

"Captain?" Mike asked, poking his head around the corner.

"Mike, you get Ian and Jacob. I'll deal with the brat." Benjamin said, holding out his fist.

Mike bumped his fist lightly and replied, "Aye."

After a bit of a fight, Tyler was carried into the dining room over Benjamin's shoulder kicking and bitching all the way.

"Put me down ya big bastard! I don't give a damn what that shitty captain has to say!"

"Shut up and listen." Benjamin said, sliding down and holding Tyler in a headlock.

To the Bonnibelle Crew,

Currently, I am on a pirate ship named the Sirius, on board with the esteemed Pirate King. My bounty is debated to be 114,000,000G, but that isn't important. Summer is approaching within the next few days. Tyler is to be trained as if I were breathing down your necks and barking in your ear. Small scale battles are brewing, but at a later date, I will discuss with you in person the upcoming war. We, the Bonnibelle, will be right in the middle of it. A very large storm is approaching, my friends.

As of now, I am alive and safe. The Sirius crew has its problems, there were fights, but I'm perfectly fine. The crew's dynamic is similar tours in setup and system, but the atmosphere is and personalities are very different. Pirate King Morgan is the man you have to look out for. His ability is unprecedented, but his strength is no equal to mine.

The rest of the letter rambled on about the Sirius men and gave instructions on what to do once the Bonnibelle landed in Moldor. Then the captain stated,

I'm counting on you boys. I know it's hard to get along without me, but you have to pull yourselves together. I'll see you all soon.

{...}

"_Annabelle?_"

I snapped back to reality, and the lingering silence still hung in the air.

"_Taku… I really appreciate it, but I have a crew working really hard to get to Moldor so we can be together again. And I don't think I'd ever have any closure knowing my wife was just up the hill._"

Taku looked at me, searching for signs of hesitation. A light smile graced his lips and he hugged me, whispering, "_Goodbye Pulchunii, you misfortune trailed beauty._" He pulled away and kissed my forehead.

"_It's never goodbye. I'll definitely see you again_." I replied.

As the ship sailed away from the island I waved him off, and I felt as if I was waving farewell to Andy up on the mountain. I didn't know if the words I spoke were really for Taku, but if Andy did hear them she'd know they were for her too.

"Vidimo se kasnije!" I called back to the shore.

"Vidimo se!" Taku rang back.

_See you later!_

_See you!_

That night I spent outside, sitting cross-legged on the deck reminiscing and observing my reactions to certain memories. I noticed that the more I thought about Andy, it was less of sadness I felt but rather happiness. Treasuring those memories rather than regretting them, placing sentimental value over her rather than desperate longing and regret.

That night still stung. I regretted it. It was like a black stain in my memory- more like a lasting blood stain. Thinking about it in depth, questioning everything about it, every second of memory made me freak out. Only time could make that hurt less.

A blanket was draped around my shoulders, and only then did I realize how cold I was. I looked up and saw Nathan.

"Thank you." I said, wrapping it tightly around me.

"It's the middle of the night. Why are you out here?" He asked.

"Just thinking. There's a lot to think about, you know?"

Nathan didn't reply.

"Want to sit with me?"

He sat down slowly beside me, no words coming from his mouth. His eyes gazed out at the open sea, scanning the horizon and slowly looking up at the vast eternity of stars.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips, and I hugged my knees to my chest.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"No." I replied. "But I don't think I ever have been."

"Do ya want to cry?"

I shook my head. "No, but will you stay with me for a while?"

A small smile graced Nathan's lips. "Sure."

Several hours later I woke to the sunrise, and a warm feeling all around me. There was a blanket wrapped around me, and someone's arms wrapped over that. My hand was in their hair, and a bandana lay a few inches above their head.

As my eyes traced the features of their face, my memories revolved around the conversation of the night previous. We talked about life, death, the loves of our lives. We talked about memories, the future, our greatest fears and biggest dreams. The feelings and emotions exposed were meant for those with a great bond and deep trust. At the time, we were both vulnerable and opened up to each other.

Nathan told me about his childhood, being raised by bandits and his rich friend Soria. He recounted their time together, and the fire. A boy named Nero came up, a cousin of his. The tale of his recruitment on the Sirius came up, the desires of fate and how Morgan roped him into it. His greatest fear of losing someone else important to him, he told me that I lived the fear he had five times over. He understood the pain of losing someone because of your mistakes.

I told him many things. I told him that I'm the reason pirates say it's bad luck to have a woman on a pirate ship. How many crew members I'd lost even after my girls, that's the basis for their superstition. I talked about the crew I had now and their superhuman ability to make me feel happy. All the things we do and how I read them better than they read themselves. I told him about my fear of men, their capability of violating me and other women in ways that sent shivers down my spine. Ways that the sickest of minds could only enjoy. Belligerent and egotistical, sexist pigs waiving their weight around like they were important. They scared the ever living hell out of me.

I told him about death. What she looked like, how she sounded, the words she whispers to you at your lowest. She was gorgeous, silky black hair and skin as pale as ivory. Her eyes were hollow and dead, her hands nothing but bone, but she was enchanting. A motherly aura came from her. She makes you believe she can nurture you, cradle you and make you feel better while taking all the pain away. In reality, she sucks every sense of feeling from you and captures your soul, carefully handling it and putting it in her display. There, she will treasure it forever.

I remember distinctly feeling uneasy, anxious about opening up to him. He reminded me of Ian, so I did what usually helped me calm down.

"Can I touch your hair?" I asked, fiddling with my thumbs.

"What for?"

"I'm feeling uneasy. You remind me of Ian, and usually, I play with his hair until I calm down."

Nathan pulled the bandana from his head and moved closer to me. My fingers stroked the locks of his hair, twirling the thin, silk-like strands between themselves. His hair was longer than it looked, and felt like a fine blanket made in the inner circles of Xesia.

"Feel better?"

I nodded and leaned against his shoulder.

At the present moment, I gazed at his sleeping face, my fingers unconsciously fiddling with his hair again. I caught myself wishing the calm, quiet, comforting moment would last forever.

Nathan shifted and his eyes opened drowsily, taking several seconds to focus and register what was before him.

"Good morning." I said.

He jumped away from me, backing up as slight panic masked his drowsiness.

I sat up and the blanket slid off my shoulder, letting the breeze cover it.

"What the hell?" He spluttered, struggling to make sense of everything and form a complete sentence.

"Calm down, nothing happened. We just talked and ended up falling asleep." I got to my feet and stretched, relishing in the cool morning breeze. "Nobody's up yet, either. We won't get accused of anything."

Nathan rubbed his face and stood up as well. "Sorry, I just freaked out for a second. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!"

The men trickled into the dining room one by one, drowsy and slightly cranky. Once pancakes came out, though, everyone lightened up considerably.

"Hey Anna," Russell said with a mouthful of pancake, "what was that guy saying to you yesterday? Doc said he was talking in a weird dialect or something and couldn't understand him."

"Yeah, I want to know too. He seemed so serious." Thomas added.

"You mean Taku? He proposed to me and asked me to stay with him."

"What the hell?" Eduardo said, looking up from his plate as Morgan exploded with laughter.

"Did he expect you to say yes?" Nathan asked.

"Well he said that he'd treat me better than anyone else ever could and that he'd never let me feel sad again, but honestly, I'd never have any closure knowing my wife was just up the hill with everyone else."

"There was that whole spirit thing too. That was pretty crazy." Christopher said with a smile on his face.

"Well, the thing about that is I made you guys go with me for a reason. You felt the emotions I was feeling, right?"

Everyone stopped eating, and tears started forming in their eyes.

"W-what the hell?" Russell sobbed, wiping his eyes rapidly.

"I suddenly felt this rush of emotion…" Morgan said, wiping his tears as well.

"That rush of emotion is how I feel all the time," I continued. "Taku felt that and decided to try and make me feel better by saying what he did. His proposal was out of genuine feeling, though."

"You feel like this all the time?" Thomas asked sadly.

"Yes. I wanted you guys to feel that emotion and see the dynamic of the relationships between my crew and me. You understand a bit better now, right?"

They all nodded.

"My crew will understand without an actual representation of my feelings, so I don't need to replicate it for them. I've built strong enough relationships with them, so they'll understand."

"You're amazing, Anna." Morgan said.

I cracked my knuckles loudly. "Then hand over that title, Pirate King."

…

"What?"

"You heard me. I want the title of Pirate King."

Confusion blanketed the crew, and I danced over the chaos.

"I thought you didn't want the title." Morgan said.

"Things change, Pirate King. You've gotta learn to adapt to the times." I stood up with my empty plate and continued, "Don't worry, I won't fight you for it anytime soon. You'll have time to prepare however you wish. Let's say in about two, two and a half weeks from today? A typical spar with wooden swords, first fatal hit wins. Or you can make things more interesting. Get back to me on that."

Then I disappeared into the kitchen to wash my dishes.

Nathan followed me and asked, "What the hell are you doing? You told me yesterday you had no interest in being Pirate King."

My hands rested on the side of the sink and I looked at Nathan with a deadly serious look on my face. "Things are about to get insane, and you sons of bitches have a front row seat."

I refused to explain my reasons for wanting to take the Pirate King title to the Sirius men. At this point, my crew had no clue about my aspirations either. I told them about the war brewing and the first day of summer approaching fast. After the next twenty-four hours, every pirate and navy soldier would have their eyes and weapons directed at me.

The ship lurched to violently I nearly went overboard.

"Good morning Morgan! Did you miss me!?" A voice rang out from the deck.

In one fluid movement, I jumped from the crow's nest and caught a stray rope, swinging over the dining and navigation rooms. I landed beside Morgan as he emerged from the dining room.

"God damn it, I thought we finally lost him over a month ago!" Eduardo groaned.

"You've gotta learn to roll with the punches, mates! Let's get some exercise!"

"Aye!"

The pirates swung over to our ship, but as I observed it seemed like no one was taking the fight seriously. Some of the Sirius men were smiling while they fought, which didn't sit right with me at all. Even the men in the other crew were more playful than anything.

Morgan and I stood above, watching the men banter with their swords.

"Is this fight serious?" I asked.

"For him it is." Morgan replied, pointing to a man facing off with Thomas. "Will you do the honors?"

"With pleasure." I replied, cracking my knuckles. "Who am I fighting?"

"Captain Alan of the Rika."

"The council member responsible for the southern seas is him?"

"Believe it or not."

Quickly I swung over and landed on a box, dramatically pointing my sword at the pirate captain. "Captain Alan of the Rika, I-!"

Alan looked at me, black strands of hair contrasting against his extremely pale skin. Grey eyes met mine, and a piercing scream ceased all the fighting.

My feet failed me and I toppled over, straining my ribs and knocking the wind out of myself. The tip of my shaking sword was pointed straight at him, and my mind struggled to contain my extreme fear. "S-stay away!" I said unsteadily.

"Anna!"

"You're dead! I killed you!"

"I didn't know you were harboring a woman, Morgan!"

"Anna, are you alright?" Christopher asked, kneeling beside me.

"Blackbeard… Why does he look like Blackbeard!?"

Shocked silence settled on the deck, creating a halt even in the men's heavy breath. The waves seemed to fade out in the seriousness of the moment, and no one dared make a sound.

Morgan spoke slowly. "Anna… You killed Blackbeard?"

"Of course I did. He killed my crew. He dared touch my wife."

"Blackbeard is my father." Alan said, catching me off guard. "I became a pirate because of him."

"Did you?"

"I wanted to beat him at his own game and become Pirate King, but I guess him getting killed by a woman is good enough."

"You act like getting killed by a woman is more humiliating than getting killed by someone else."

"Well, it is. Women are usually much weaker-"

I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him down on a box, crushing it.

"Listen, you piece of shit, I've been bleeding into rags for the past ten hours and I swear to god I will shove them into your mouth through your anus if you spew any more sexist bullshit."

"Oh shit." Eduardo said, crossing his arms and laughing a bit.

"Now, you spawn of scum, I know it's the first day of summer tomorrow, but unless you really want me to fight you I suggest you skip your happy ass back to your own goddamn ship."

"Are you saying I can't beat a woman?"

"Are you saying you can?"

"Of the women I've met, I've tamed them easily."

I threw him away from me and picked up my sword. "Then fight me, you bastard!"

Alan pulled out a gun, confidence radiating from his scrawny face. "Let's go, you bleeding witch!"

In the split second my eyes locked with Morgan's, and he smiled.

I nodded.

Alan shot his gun, and both my pointer and index fingers guided my hand to it. They caught it gracefully, and the rest of my body followed through. My right foot stopped and pivoted as my torso sunk, providing momentum for my left leg. The sole of my foot connected right under his jaw, sending Alan flying up with incredible speed. He reached the top of the main mast, suspended in the air for several seconds, and came crashing down.

Just as his body was about to slam onto the deck, I caught his collar and began spinning him like an out of control merry-go-round. Faster and faster we went, his body tearing the fabric clutched between my fingers as the force dividing us grew stronger.

The cheap fabric finally tore, sending him tumbling through the air and slamming into the wall of the dining room. There he collapsed, unconscious but not dead.

"10 seconds." I said, showing the bullet between my fingers. "A little sloppy."

"Holy shit." Nathan breathed.

"Master Alan!" A shrill cry called from the deck. In an instant, a mass of pink-clad flesh charged at me.

Deja vu struck me at that moment, and I instantly recalled the night Morgan and the Sirius men happened upon my ship. That night I got trapped on this ship, I fought this ragtag bunch of pirates. "Pathetic," I mumbled, realizing I never actually caught a glimpse of that scrawny pirate captain that copped a feel on the deck of my ship.

Again I decided to do a simple sidestep, but shockingly gorillas learn.

"I won't let you pull that one again!" The woman yelled, grabbing my shirt with her meaty hand.

Both of my hands clamped down on her ginormous wrist, twisting it and throwing the attached body away from me.

"You two twigs wanna pick a fight too?" I snarled at the trembling twins, clutching each other and their wooden swords.

"Y-you'll pay for hurting Master Alan and Fuzzy!"

"Master? Fuzzy?" I scoffed. "Is that scrawny son of scum so twisted to bring kids into kinky shit? And what about that woman, is she called Fuzzy for her upper lip? You'd think they were just some comic relief characters for a shitty novel. Poor character development pisses me off!"

The two kids looked like they were about to piss themselves, so I decided to cut them some slack.

"You two need to learn how to be intimidating! Quit clutching each other like babies and take a stance!"

"B-but you're scary!"

"No shit! Now take a stance!"

"Pfft, what's with this woman?" Morgan laughed in the background.

The two boys took stances parallel of each other, and I stood up straight.

"Good! I can see you two are close knit. Now, when you're fighting, use that to your advantage! Read each other's movements and take out your enemy together!" My hands rested on my hips and I asked, "what are your names?"

"I'm Tom!"

"And I'm Colin!"

"Nice to meet ya! Sorry y'all caught me in bitch mode, but ya know yer captain copped a feel less than two weeks ago and as a bitch, I couldn't let that slide! Also, that Fuzzy woman is just a ball of misguided rage that goes blind when angered."

The boys smiled at me, and I turned to the Sirius men.

"Instead of smirking at me, y'all should check to see if those two are dead."

"What!?"

"Heh, just kidding."

Tom and Colin waved us off as they sailed away with their mangled captain and first mate, bandaged and unconscious.

"Good riddance." I spat.

"They'll be back." Morgan said, smiling.

"Humph, I'll kick his ass a thousand times over if I have to. I don't give a shit if he looks like my worst nightmare and is the spawn of that sick bastard, he's a twig!"

"Annabelle, I think you need to calm down." Christopher said, smiling wryly and lowering his hands as a gesture.

"Doc, listen. I dunno about you, but I've been around enough women to know you _don't tell a bleeding bitch to calm down_." I scowled, giving him a death glare over my shoulder.

"Miss Anna, are you alright? I don't really know what's going on, but is there anything I can do to help?" Thomas asked.

"Oh Thomas, why can't every man be like you?" I asked, holding his face in my hands and squishing his cheeks. "Would you be a dear and put a pillow out on the deck? I need to rest for a bit."

"Yes, ma'am!" Thomas said, saluting and running off.

"Now the rest of you, y'all probably don't understand that there's a war going on because there's not a baby inside me, but I don't think you're stupid enough to not know that my bitch meter is up ten times more than usual. So, if y'all need me for something I'll probably do it but complain more than I usually would. Okay? Okay. Excuse me."

I wasn't disturbed much out on the deck, except for Thomas asking if I needed a drink or if there was anything he could do to help me. He's such a sweetheart.

By the time dinner rolled around, it felt like grenades were exploding in my ovaries. It hurt to move even the slightest bit, but since I skipped lunch my stomach demanded food. It was hell.

I took a long time to get up, but when I finally stumbled into the dining room and sat down I was thankful I didn't have to move for awhile.

"Long time no see." Eduardo commented, entering and sitting beside me. He had that annoying smirk on his face, and I could tell he was purposely trying to piss me off.

"Oh fuck off." I snapped, his smugness doing just that.

"Someone's chipper." Morgan commented, entering right behind him.

"You would be too if your insides were being torn apart."

"Miss Anna! I was just about to ask if you were coming to dinner." Thomas said, coming in and sitting beside me.

I folded my hands in an exaggerated motion and said, "I would like to thank God for sending me an angel in this pit of idiotic testosterone."

Russell laughed and said, "At least out idiotic testosterone doesn't give us absolute hell every month."

"Russell!" Doc snapped. "What she's going through can actually be very painful, and her hormones are very imbalanced. She can't help it."

"So you mean she's basically a rebellious adolescent?"

"That's exactly what you are, you piece of shit!" I examined, moving to jump over the table and hit him but stopping halfway. Slowly I sunk back and clutched my sides, resting my head on the table and trying my hardest not to cry.

"You guys are noisy." Nathan said, coming out from the dining room.

The smell of food filled the room and I heard the door close, but after that, the room was eerily silent.

"Anna?" Morgan said worriedly.

"What's wrong with her?" Nathan asked, slight panic seeping through his stoic and cold tone.

"N-nothin." I choked, gripping my sides harder. I could feel my body trembling from the pain, but I desperately hoped it didn't show. Mentally I kicked myself for overexerting my body earlier, but at the same time, I didn't regret kicking that captain's ass.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Russell asked, uncharacteristically concerned.

"Yeah, jus'... Jus' gimme a minute."

"Liar." Nathan said bluntly, putting the plates of food on the table with a loud clack.

Damn you for seeing through me!

"Anna, do you get bad cramps?" Christopher asked.

I nodded shamefully.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

With slight difficulty I looked up, tears clouding my vision. "It's kind of pathetic that someone strong as me would be rendered useless by a bit of blood..."

Nathan walked around the table and picked me up, saying, "Stubborn woman. If yer hurtin', say so. We're not kids."

"Put me down." I said, wiping my eyes.

"No. You're resting in the sick bay until you're not hurtin' anymore."

I gave up and relaxed, resting my head on his shoulder. "Thanks."

After Christopher explained to Thomas what a period was, he became absolutely mortified and doted on me like I was going to die. Doc himself made some medicine to help with the pain, and Nathan made special meals to help too. For awhile, I felt like I was back on the Bonnibelle.

* * *

"Benny!" I whined, clutching his shoulder. "My back hurts, Benny! Give me a massage!"

Benjamin laughed and smiled sweetly. "You become such a baby when you get cramps. All right, roll over."

"Will you give me a tummy rub, too?"

"Of course."

Ian would always make sweet chocolate for me, and Mike would make heaven in a bottle that either put me to sleep or let me walk again. Jacob would dote on me and do things like bring me water or change the rag on my forehead when Mike was doing something else.

I loved that my boys would take care of me.

* * *

Christopher took my temperature and found out I had a temperature of 103 degrees, but I insisted I was fine.

"I've had worse. It's fine."

"Anna I know you're strong, but it's okay to act weak sometimes."

I laughed. "If it's okay to be weak I wouldn't have to act so strong all the time."

"You don't need to be on your guard around us, especially if you're in pain."

"When you're afraid of men, your guard is up whether you want it to be or not."

Time passed slowly. My back hurt, my chest hurt, my feet hurt. There was a war going on in my ovaries, bombs and cannons and grenades the bulk of ammunition. My head was on fire, but the thoughts that swirled around were muddled and foggy.

It was hard to tell if I was sleeping or not. The things I saw were blurry. Sounds were muffled. Feeling was all mushed together.

By the second day, I had developed a cough. Any words that came from my lips were raspy and hoarse. Whatever was happening, it was hurting.

"Christopher, am I dying?" I asked in a moment of mental clarity.

"I don't think so. You just have a high fever and bad cough. It's only really bad because you're on your period."

"So just one more day?"

"Just one or two, then you will get much better."

I slept.

On the third day, the pain was unbearable. Just rolling over made me cry, and I started throwing up. Christopher made the men steer clear of the sick bay just in case I had caught something, and I began feeling lonely. My period was just as excuse to cry about it.

In the late hours of the night, there was a tapping noise on the door. It was quiet at first but became increasingly frantic as seconds passed.

Excruciating pain dominated my slow movements. It felt like my stomach was being torn apart, but I dragged myself to the door and opened it.

Dantalion waddled in, rubbing against my leg and cooing gently.

"Dantalion!" I croaked.

She squawked affectionately and ruffled her wings, begging to cuddle.

I struggled back to towards the infirmary bed, but just as I was about to lift myself into it I collapsed. Dantalion wiggled herself between my arms, and I decided to just lie on the floor with her. That night I slept peacefully.

"Anna! Anna, can you hear me!?"

"Huh? What?"

I was embraced by a pair of shaky arms. "I thought ya were dead or somethin. What the hell were you doing on the floor?"

"I let Dantalion in and couldn't make it back to the bed."

"Idiot. Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry."

Nathan held me a little tighter. "Are ya still hurtin?"

"My head hurts, and I kinda feel like I'm gonna puke again."

"Can you stand?"

"Yeah."

He walked me to the dining room, where everyone was waiting. The sweet smell of fresh strawberries made my stomach churn from hunger, and Dantalion found her way to me and perched on my shoulder. "Let's eat."


	12. Chapter 12

My illness faded as the day dragged on, and eventually I was back to my normal state. Best of all, my period was finally over.

"Anna!"

"Russell? What's up?"

"Since yer not dying anymore, wanna spar with me?"

"Sure."

We stood on the bow with wooden swords, ten paces apart, and focused scowls on our faces. He wanted me to fight seriously.

"Russell, I can match your strength or I can go full force. By being serious about the fight, which do you mean?"

"I want you to fight with everything you have."

"Okay."

Russell stepped towards me, and instantly I threw my sword up in the air. My hand grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back, making him drop his sword, and as mine fell back towards the ground I caught it and held it against Russell's neck.

"Three seconds."

"Holy shit." Russell breathed. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Years and years of getting your ass kicked makes you pretty strong. Connections are useful too."

"Can you teach me how to do that!?"

I stepped away from him and he picked his sword up eagerly.

"I want to learn!"

"Sure, but your ass is going to get kicked a lot."

"Okay!"

"Pose for an attack."

"Wrong!" I snapped, kicking his butt with the sole of my foot and sending him stumbling forward. He had no idea that when I said 'your ass is going to get kicked' I meant it literally.

"Damn it," He mumbled, getting up and holding his butt. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You're charging with your sword in hand. Either be ready to take theirs, or throw yours up and catch it. For you, taking theirs might be easier."

"Okay, what do I do for that?"

"After twisting their arm, reach with the other and take it. Then just bring it up to their neck. Slice if need be."

"Okay."

After lunch it was sunny, but it wasn't hot yet. I climbed up to the crow's nest and napped a bit, drifting between daydreams and actual dreams. I saw Andy. She was happy, smiling. Usually, in my dreams, she was angry at me. She hated me.

"Till the last sliver of moonlight, till the final falling cherry blossom, my heart will beat only for you and the times we spent together."

My eyes scanned the water, and I pursed my lips tightly.

When I woke, the smell of meat drifted up and made my stomach growl. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, only to have a sudden wave of nausea slap me in the face.

Nathan made beef.

"Miss Anna, are you eating lunch?" Thomas called from the dining room.

"No."

"The hell? Get down here!" Nathan yelled.

"I'm gonna hurl." I replied, covering my mouth with my hand.

Nathan got a bit pissed and slammed the dining room door, stomping over to the base of the crow's nest. "Are ya pickin' a fight with me?"

"Not really."

"What the hell? Why aren't you gonna eat?"

"I can't eat beef, smart ass. Unless you want me to spew chunks all over your precious dining room."

"Why didn't you say so?"

"I dunno."

"Liar."

I slid down the ladder to the deck, then stepped next to Nathan and bumped him with my hip. "Girls like to have fun sometimes."

I moved to the deck, away from the smell, and practiced a bit with a sword. I preferred a bow and arrows, but swords were common on the front lines. When I was done with weapon practice, I began doing crunches, determined to do one thousand in fifteen minutes. Then one thousand push-ups in forty minutes.

Isn't it unfortunate that I was actually scared to death?

"We're almost there..." I breathed, peeking out from the crow's nest in the early morning. "We're almost there! We'll get there by this evening!" I yelled, sliding down the ladder and doing cartwheels around the deck. My hands latched onto a rope and I swung myself to the bow, landing steadily on my feet and breaking into a run once more. I ran to the ends of the bowsprit, clinging to a single rope and yelled, "I'm almost there boys! Just wait a little bit longer!"

"What the hell are you yellin' about, woman!?" Eduardo exclaimed, throwing open his bedroom door crankily.

"Moldor is so close! Benny and Ian! Jacob and Mike! Even my cranky newbie Tyler, they're all so close to me now!"

"I don't think I've ever seen her this happy." Christopher said, rubbing his eyes.

"Miss Anna, are you feeling okay?" Thomas asked, looking a bit concerned.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him by the waist, dragging him as I exclaimed, "Dance with me, Thomas!"

"B-but Miss Anna, I'm the boy!"

"Forget the gender roles! Just dance!"

"Bahaha! Anna's right, men! It's her last day on the ship, so let's party!" Morgan announced, a half empty bottle of liquor in his hand.

By midday, everyone was completely wasted. The music the men played was out of tune and badly timed, but that didn't stop me from dancing anyway.

Finally, a dark ship began to pull up from the horizon.

"Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted!"

A fairly large man boarded the ship, and a white owl was perched on his shoulder.

"Captain Jones?"

"Captain Lee?"

"Yo, Captain!"

I looked behind Captain Lee, and that old bastard Stewart was walking across the plank with a smile on his face.

"Stewart, what's the meaning of this?"

"I thought I'd show the mighty representative of the western seas the next Pirate King." He said, resting his elbow on Lee's shoulder.

"Next Pirate King? Her?" Lee repeated, almost seeming offended.

"Pleasure to meet you." I replied, bowing my head. "I'm actually glad you two came to stop by. I have some business to discuss-"

"Is it about Leywei?"

I shot a glare back at Lee, who had interrupted me. "It's about the war."

"So you're expecting an attack on this ship, stationed at the Mysterious Islands, in two weeks?"

"Yes."

"What's your basis?"

"Well I kinda handed his ass to him two weeks ago, and I bet he figured out this crew lied to him about me being captain of this ship. His thinking is pretty fucked up, so I think he'd rather attack people around me than me directly."

"But you're going to try and keep them out of the war?" Stewart asked, propping his elbows on the table.

"Yes. I'd rather keep them away, that way Leywei will be a bit paranoid about a second wave of ships."

"Have you contacted anyone about the battle?"

"Besides you two, no. I was planning on sending out messenger birds to several ships using services from Moldor."

"That's risky, using services from the navy capital."

"But the majority of people, including the navy, believe Captain Jones to be a man."

"You're Captain Jones?" Lee asked, taken aback.

"Captain Annabelle Jones, Captain of the Bonnibelle and current competitor for the Pirate King title. Nice ta' meet ya." I said, a bit irritated. "Anyway, I was going to contact the Pirate King's council, and obviously Captain Stewart. That would supply me with thirty men, thirty-six including my own."

"You seriously believe thirty-six men can defeat your estimated one thousand!?" Lee exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table.

"Yes. The men Leywei hire will be strong, but the men your ships carry are some of the most elite soldiers you can find. If needed be I have several other contacts I can confide in. At most I expect our numbers to be around fifty-four."

"That means every man will need to take out twenty men!"

"I can kill two hundred and fifty men easily. I expect at least ten kills per man. The war will be over before everyone on the opposing side is dead."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Once either Leywei or I die, the war is over."

"Are you expecting to die?" Stewart asked.

"I won't rule out the possibility."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"Well, what do you want to hear?"

"I won't support this if it's a suicide mission."

"Neither will I." Lee stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not fighting him just so I can get myself killed. If that was the case I would have died a hell of a long time ago. Listen, all I'm saying is that there is a fair chance I might not make it out alive. I refuse to lie to everyone about that."

"That's honorable, Captain, but I stand by what I said."

"Hardass." I muttered, purposefully loud enough for them to hear. "We're almost to Moldor, so y'all might want to pull up your sails before we're visible to the navy."

"Oh, that's right. Come on Captain Lee, we're meeting your crew in Moldor. Better not get caught before."

The men of the Sirius crew were awake and deathly hungover by the time we reached the Moldarian port. I nearly shit myself the instant I saw my ship, but at this point I had to keep my shit together.

Literally.

"Miss Anna, you're bouncing up and down a lot. Do you feel sick?" Thomas asked, gently touching my shoulder.

"I'm about to fucking puke." I said. "The ship hasn't been docked long. I bet they're all gathered on the Main Street trying to figure out where to go." I hugged myself, standing on my tippy toes and trying to stretch over the sails of other ships. "Why the fuck won't this ship go faster?"

Then I saw an opportunity. The port wasn't that far away anymore, and the tied sails left loose ropes dangling here and there.

Without hesitation I sprinted and jumped, catching the longest rope and using the momentum to swing over the side of the ship. My body sailed through the air, and with a firm clack my feet landed on the ground.

"Anna!"

"Miss Anna!"

"You crazy bitch, what the fuck were you thinking!?"

I ignored them and sprinted to the Main Street.

I ran for a long time, sprinting through alleys for shortcuts and zipping through crowds of people like a rat. Panic and anxiety griped at my mind when suddenly a dreadlock-covered head stood out from the crowd.

"Benny!" I screamed, running to him.

The crowd seemed to open up, and for the first time in three weeks, I saw my beloved crew.

"Captain!" I heard them all say.

I jumped, the men catching me in their arms as tears slid down my cheeks like rain. "I missed you guys so, so much!"

"We missed you too, Captain!" Jacob whined, throwing his arms around me for an individual hug.

I pulled away and looked at my crew before me. With a tear streaked face and unbelievable happiness in my heart, I smiled.

I told them from the beginning. About Andy, the Sirius, Leywei... and that night.

"Cap'n... I had no idea. I'm sorr-"

"Shut up Benjamin." I said sternly, using my hand to cover his mouth.

"What happened after you left that island?" Jacob asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I came here."

* * *

The island made me want to live again by showing me the beauty of life. But that didn't mean I didn't want to die.

Somehow I docked the ship by myself and stumbled mindlessly through the port, through crowds, streets, and shops. I ended up collapsing in a bar.

When I woke, a sickeningly sweet smell reminded me of the perfume put on every day by Betty. My stomach churned and I quickly sat up, expecting to be in the sick bay with head trauma or something, but instead I was in a girl's bedroom.

There was a knock at the door, and after I gave no response it opened quietly. "Are you awake?"

I looked at the masculine figure in the doorway, sporting muscles and an intimidating height well over six feet.

"Yeah."

They came towards me, smiling widely with red stained lips. The instant you walked in I just got so worried! Ya know, I almost thought you were gonna fall over right then."

A tray of food was placed on my lap, filled with the damn near opposite of bar food. Eggs, pancakes, bacon, and fruit were all placed in an aesthetically pleasing display.

"Thank you."

"Now I knew you weren't drunk in the least last night. What made you pass out like that?"

"Hunger, probably. Or emotional instability. Both."

"Emotional instability? You get dumped or something?"

I looked down at the plates on my lap and muttered, "Something like that."

Denaye was a dark skinned woman, reaching six feet in height. She had black, curly hair, which she sometimes wore naturally. It poofed out in a really pretty way, but for some reason she didn't like it. When she straightened it, it reached her mid back. She would tie a bandana over to keep it out of her face, and she said it hid her roots that she couldn't get perfectly straight.

I always told her, "I don't know why you don't like your curly hair. It's beautiful."

As fate would have it, the bar needed a tough as nails barista. Even though I didn't much fit the tough as nails description, I had nothing else to do and Denaye had taken an interest to me. I took the job, and soon spent an unnecessary amount of time with her. She was transgender, and needed a hand to help serve customers as she beat the shit out of transphobic patrons.

For the few times she might have needed beating people up, she took me under her strong wing and worked me to the bone both during and after work. Push-ups, sprints, crunches, squats, sword practice, shooting practice, cardio, strength training… and the list goes on. I gained an immense amount of strength in just a few months. I'm grateful.

"Oi, Denaye! You might wanna take a break, pirates are coming through the port."

"What? Are you sure?" She asked, holding an almost toothless man by the collar.

I shot her a knowing look and she nodded. With a flick of her wrist the man flew out of the bar and into the street, causing several lasting glances but no major commotion.

"I'm so glad I snatched you up! Since ya started working, pirates can't take this place by surprise!"

"Well, I was a pirate for three years."

"I still wanna know how that happened. Yer so secretive!" She teased, grabbing a brush to sweep up the teeth on the ground.

My hands stopped washing the cup they were holding and I whispered softly, "I… I'll tell you after closing time."

Her head snapped in my direction, full of surprise and almost doubt, but when she saw the seriousness in my eye a wide smile stretched across her face. "Alright! I've gotta work hard today so we get some free time!"

The pirates that had just docked in the port wandered in, looking around a bit then resting on the barstools.

"Hello, what can I get y'all to drink?" I asked, walking over to them.

The most intimidating presence, who I assumed was the captain, looked me up and down. His eyes moved up to my face, squinting a bit as he studied me closely. Anxiety bubbled up as I became painfully aware of my scar and eye patch.

After several seconds he smiled and said, "We'll have rum, three whiskeys, and a Captain Jon."

"I'll have those right out, sir." I said, handing Denaye the order slip.

By the time I returned with orders from the tables Denaye had prepared the drinks, so I served them quickly.

"Thank you, missus." The captain said, winking at me.

As time went on and I served the other customers, I noticed something strange about the crew. They all seemed to be friendly while discussing their business, but one of them in particular wasn't. Well, they were, but it seemed like it was forced. There was a negative aura around him, reeking of disdain and hate.

I could tell they were like me. Miserable.

"Excuse me, sir, would you like another drink?" I asked cautiously, clutching my notepad.

He looked up at me, and a strikingly clear face looked up at me. There were no scars, and a chiseled jaw was framed by long dreadlocks. He was a dark skinned man, and a very large one at that. His shoulders alone were huge, and his muscular build could challenge even Denaye's body.

"Yes, thank you."

His voice was deep, but it seemed like something was off about it. And his eyes… they were a rich brown, but they didn't shine. They were clouded and dark, polluted by something.

Just like mine.

"You had rum, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be right back with your drink." I said, carefully taking the cup and retreating to the back. "Denaye, something's wrong."

"What, what happened? Did they hurt you? I swear to god if they did-"

"No, never mind. It's nothing. I need a rum."

As she reluctantly filled the cup ad pestered me about what was wrong, I tried to figure it out myself. That man could easily hurt me, and looked like he wouldn't hesitate to. Clouded eyes are dangerous, so… why wasn't I scared of him?

The pirates stayed for a long time, and right as night fell Denaye started to get anxious.

"They've been here forever. They're plotting something. They wanna start a fight."

"Calm down. They're just gathering information from the other customers. Pirates do that a lot when they're looking for treasure or wondering what to do next. Besides, it's a full moon tonight. They're probably having their full moon party here as a special treat."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright… Alright, yeah. I trust you. Okay, so here's the two glasses of wine you asked for." She said, shoving them in my hands.

As I passed, I could hear the pirates talking.

"Months ago! It's no wonder we haven't seen that bastard around."

"I can't believe it. Who killed him?"

"It's all a mystery, apparently. They attacked some ship and a ton of people got massacred."

Sounds like pirates.

"Well, that bastard Blackbeard's been cheatn' death for years this was bound to happen eventually."

The wine glasses slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor, shattering and spilling the dark purple liquid as I almost tripped over a chair.

"Anna?"

"Oh, sorry, I'll clean it up…" I said, kneeling down and picking up the bigger shards of glass.

A grubby, bloodstained, green tinted hand reached for me. Instantly I moved to slice it with a shard of glass, but it cut my skin just as I held it tighter.

I blinked, and saw that pirate's hand hovering before me.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh… Yeah, sorry. I'll-"

He knelt down and took out a handkerchief, using it to soak up some of the wine and sweep the little shards into a pile.

"Anna, are you alright?" Denaye asked, kneeling beside me and putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah. I tripped."

"Here, give me that and go get the broom. I've told you before, don't use your hands!"

"I forgot. Sorry." I said, hiding my bloody hand from her.

After retrieving the broom and tying up my hand with an old washcloth, Denaye told me to get back to work playfully. I thanked the pirate for helping me, and gave the whole crew a round of drinks on the house (aka on me). It was a wasted sentiment, though. I was running into tables, nearly tripping over chairs, and running into the bar. Denaye eventually sent me to be back room to rest. She closed the bar swiftly and worried over me in an instant, asking about fevers and hallucinations or whatever else was going through her mind.

"Denaye, can I tell you now?"

"Tell me what?"

"Everything."

Her shoulders relaxed, and the gently took a seat next to me. Her hand enveloped mine softly, and then looked straight at me. "I'm listening."

As I talked about my life and things progressed, tears pecked at my eyes and my grip got tighter. My voice began to waver, and my entire body was trembling by the time I got to the present.

She didn't say a word, but as I tried hard to envelop my sobs her strong arms wrapped me in an excruciatingly tender embrace.

I clung to her, pleading for the pain in my chest and mind to be eased in any way. I felt like dying. In my mind I was already dead. It was almost like there was nothing to live for with my wife gone.

Denaye's hand brushed my cheek, tucking a short strand of hair behind my ear and making me look up.

"Anna..." She breathed, pulling me closer to her by the waist.

Her lips met mine gently, and in my bottomless pit of loneliness and sorrow I clung to her even more. She touched me so gently but burned with passion, just as desperate for affection. We were vulnerable.

Her hands traced the sides of my body, pulling at corset ties and inching the hem of baggy pants past the hips. When her hands inched under my shirt, something pulled me to my senses.

I retracted from her a bit, putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her away. Tears still leaked down my face, and a sudden wave of guilt crashed down on me.

"I can't... My wife..."

She smiled, and her large hand stroked my head. "It's alright. I'm glad ya came to your senses. If you need me I'll be in the kitchen."

Her broad back turned and disappeared through the doorway, leaving me dazed and vulnerable.

With no one so see me, and nothing left to lose, I sobbed.

Several minutes later I rose from the bed and went to the kitchen.

"Denaye."

She looked over her shoulder from the stove and smiled. "You better already?"

She wasn't fooling anyone. Her eyes were red, and still had tears in them. "I'm taking Bonnibelle and going to Reiz."

The smile on her face fell. "When?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"Are you running away from me?" She asked playfully, trying to seem like it was a joke. It was painfully apparent that she was serious, though, as tears filled her eyes again.

"No." I stated firmly, clenching my fists. "I'm done running away."

She turned off the stove and put down her wooden spoon, turning to me. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to sail my ship. Without Andy."

Her expression softened. "Really now? Well, look who's finally getting stronger."

I clenched my fists even tighter. "I'm going to change, Denaye. For better or for worse, I'm going to change."

She smiled. "I can't wait until the day you come back here and have a big smile on your face."

Two days after our incident, I had my things packed and the ship ready to leave the port.

"Are ya sure you can trust those guys?" She asked, looking at the group of ragtag men assembled before the ship.

"Yes. I'm stronger now, remember? You don't need to worry anymore."

She smiled. "Just be careful. Remember to visit me every time you come back to Moldor!"

"I will. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay. Be safe."

"No promises."

Over the next few months, I gained and lost crew mates. Eight gone. Three on board. Things were looking bad. The men I had didn't trust me, and my mental state wasn't any kind of stable in any sense.

But, that's when I met Benny.

* * *

"To this day I've never seen her smile!" Denaye exclaimed, flipping a lock of straightened hair over her shoulder. "That was a nice trip down memory lane, though."

"Well, I just saw her smile for the first time today." Benny replied, taking a swig of rum.

Denaye dropped her cleaning rag and stared at him in disbelief. "No way. Y'all are lying."

A soft smile spread on my face and I said, "I swore, for better or for worse."

Her arms wrapped around me as she leaned over the bar, squeezing me tightly as she trembled and started to cry. Slowly she let me go, her hands lingering on my shoulders as she stared at my smile with tear filled eyes. "Anna, you've gotten so much stronger. I'm so proud of you."

"Captain, there's more pirates." Tyler said, looking out the window into the street.

I looked and laughed. "That's the Sirius crew, mates. I've spent the past three weeks with those bastards. The instant I saw the port I jumped off the ship, so right now they're all like lost dogs looking for me."

"They do look familiar…" Jacob said, peering at Thomas.

Quickly I ran to the front and called out to the crew. "Oi! I know y'all are probably pretty sick of me at this point, but how about one last drink together?"

"Miss Anna! Thomas exclaimed, breaking away from the group and tacking me with a hug. Tears ran down his cheeks as he spluttered, "I thought you left us without saying goodbye!"

"Damn kid was blubberin' the whole time you were gone." Eduardo groaned.

"Well, it's not his fault. I get upset when people leave without saying goodbye too."

"We might as well drink before you go. The ship'll be a bit lonely without ya." Morgan said, following me into the bar.

"Are you sure you can't stay with us, Miss Anna?" Thomas whined, still crying and clinging to me.

"Sorry, Thomas, but somebody' gotta watch over your big brother." I said, throwing my arm over Jacob's shoulders.

"Big brother?" Jacob repeated, confused.

"Yes, Mr. Rightful Heir to the Throne of Reiz, this is your darling baby brother."

They both looked at each other, and I stepped away as they both stood up straight. For several seconds they did nothing but look at their spitting image, but simultaneously they reached out to each other and embraced tightly.

"How touching." Morgan and I said.

The two separated, and Jacob looked at me. "Captain, how did you find out that I'm the eldest prince of Reiz?"

"Well, there was a couple of things. First off, I was skeptical of your explanation for your bounty when you first became part of my crew. How was some petty thief worth two million gold pieces? Second, my bounty raised significantly after you joined us. I blamed it on our raid of the Crystal Tomb several weeks before, but the severe jump was unusual. So, once Captain Leywei started spewing shit it all just kinda fit into place. After a bit of digging around on their ship," I said, pointing to Morgan with my thumb, "I found out you two were brothers."

Jacob turned to his brother. "But, Thomas, why did you become a pirate?"

He smiled. "It's a long story."

We stayed at the bar until nightfall, talking and partying to our hearts content. As the sun began to set, I told my crew it was time to leave.

"Miss Anna, do we really have to say goodbye?" Thomas asked tearfully, pulling away from my hug.

"It's not goodbye, Thomas. We'll see each other on the water. Besides, now you have a brother, and familial visits during holidays are mandatory."

I hugged Russell next, who reluctantly hugged me back. "Practice what I taught you. Try not to waste so much movement. We can spar next time we see each other."

Next was Eduardo who said, "Finally, the damn troublesome woman is off our ship."

"Don't stab me again, Eddy." I teased, winking at him and sticking out my tongue at him.

Christopher hugged me gently. "At least try not to break any more bones for a while."

"No promises."

Nathan I hugged next, and he lingered a little longer than the others. "Yer too skinny. Make sure you eat enough."

"Don't worry, Ian knows not to feed me beef."

Morgan held out his hand, and I clasped it so ours locked. He pulled me in and we patted each other on the back, pulling away and letting go.

"I'll see you in two weeks, Pirate King. Enjoy the title while you still can."

"Oh Anna, I'll enjoy it until the day I die."

I turned away from him and faced my crew. "Come on men, let's go home. We have business to discuss."

"Yes, Captain!"

As we reached the ship I could see that the boxes of cargo weren't in any kind of order. I had expected it, of course, but it bugged me more than I thought it would. The instant I stepped on the boarding ramp, though, I was hit with a horrid smell.

"What the hell did you guys do while I was gone?" I asked, scrunching my nose in disgust.

They didn't answer me, and I turned to see them all white-faced with fear.

My eyes turned back to look up at the deck and I proceeded cautiously, slowly rising up and taking in the sight before me. Without a word I strolled along the deck, then made my way into the dining room. Silently I approached the dining room table, and a single dusty footprint greeted me.

I moved to my seat at the head of the table, which was the only one still erect. Calmly I reclined, putting my feet up on the table and crossing my ankles.

"So," I said, addressing the slouching crew, "who put their feet on my table?"

They were all pretty quiet, but the brave soul owned up. As expected, it was Tyler.

Paced exaggeration emphasized my movements, and slowly I moved my feet from the table to the floor. I stood from the chair and walked over to him calmly, keeping my gaze even and my body relaxed. As I relentlessly proceeded he was backed into the wall, and once he was trapped a sweet, sadistic smile covered my face. My hand hit the wall beside his head loudly, and I glared with frightening intensity. Suddenly sweet and honey like I stroked his hair tenderly, using the petrified silence of my fellow crewmen for full dramatic effect.

My face was kind and full of compassion, but the glare in my eye kept. "If you ever put your feet on my table again…" My fist clenched his hair tightly, pulling him closer, "I'll send them so far up your ass that you'll taste the shoe polish in your mouth."

He nodded slightly, and I released him.

"Now," I said, turning my glare to the crew, "clean up."

The situation struck me as humorous as my crew busted their asses, hurrying past me and avoiding my glare like the plague. Within the hour, though, the ship was gorgeous again.

Finally, I was able to relax. With my feet on the table and chair tipped back, I mulled over the topic at hand as my men sat down.

"So, Captain, what's going on?" Benny asked.

"There's going to be a war."

...

"So, that's the gist of it. In two weeks, we'll be at war with Leywei. The possibility of me dying is fair. So are you with me, or not?"

"I just have one question." Tyler said. "What's the possibility of us dying?"

"Unlikely. You all are too skilled to be defeated by Leywei's men. Besides, you'll be right behind me. The most difficult part of your job will be climbing over the bodies."

"When are we departing?" Mike asked.

"In three days."

"Well, is sounds good to me." Benjamin said.

Ian nodded beside him.

"I haven't fought in awhile. Sounds fun." Mike said.

"I'm not too excited about fighting, but I don't like that Leywei guy either. I'm in!" Jacob exclaimed, clenching his fist and smiling.

I turned to Tyler, and his eyes were cast aside.

"I dunno what we're fighting for." He said.

I sighed. "Well, I was gonna have to tell y'all this anyway."

"Cap'n..." Benny said cautiously.

"We're fighting for my wife."

"Andy?"

"Yes. Leywei was involved with Blackbeard and ordered the massacre."

"Are those other pirates going to fight?" Benny asked, his tone taking the tone of a low growl.

"No. Absolutely not."

"But ya said they were good at fightin." Mike commented, a bit confused.

"They are, but I forbid them from fighting. Someone from this crew or their will die if they do."

"Why is that? Wouldn't more fighting power be beneficial to us?"

"If those son of bitches fight, one of them isn't going to survive. They're not prepared to fight with this crowd."

"Whatta ya mean by that?"

"They're used to being the strongest fighters on the field. Having people fight at a level equal to them will become overwhelming, and they'll get frustrated. By the time I get to Leywei, one might already be dead."

"How do you know so much about the battle already?" Tyler asked, eying my suspiciously.

"Haven't you noticed Dantalion's been missing?"

"Now that you mention it," Benny said, looking around, "I haven't seen her."

"I've been directly contacting Leywei, and he's been baiting me with information doused in threats. Like I said before, He's planning an attack on the Sirius with an army to 'replicate the night everything fell apart once more'. Except, he's seriously trying to kill me at this point."

"What the hell? Wouldn't he just try to kill us instead?"

"No. He thinks that the Sirius is my crew. Also, he was humiliated in front of them, and he's surprisingly competent enough to understand that by baiting me with them, I'm forced to be put on the violent offensive."

"But-"

"I understand that I'm asking a lot of you men. In retrospect, I understand that it seems like you guys are charging in with me to my own death."

"Are you going to die?"

A small smile spread on my lips and my hat slid forward to cover my eyes. "Probably."

{…}

"I wonder if she left the port already." Thomas wondered aloud, trailing behind Nathan on their trip for groceries.

"Probably. She high-tailed it off the ship the instant the port came into view." Nathan replied.

"Yeah… That's true…"

"Her goodbyes were a bit insincere too." Nathan mumbled.

"But she said we'll see her again soon."

"I dunno…" He looked up and continued, "I guess she just couldn't wait to get away from us."

"That's not true! Miss Anna doesn't feel that way at all!"

"But how would you know, Thomas?"

"Because… Miss Anna…"

"It doesn't matter, anyway. Eventually you'll get to see her agai-"

"Miss Anna!" Thomas exclaimed, breaking into a run and almost pushing through the crowd. He tackled someone with a hug, who actually turned out to be Anna.

"Thomas! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"We're shopping for food. Nathan's running low."

"I don't doubt it. Your crew eats a lot."

"Tell me about it." Nathan said, scratching his face and laughing a bit.

"But so does my crew. They had nothing left but old fish and a single basil leaf left. Animals when I'm not around." She said.

Thomas looked a bit sad and was quiet, but said what he was thinking anyway. "Well then it looks like it was good that you left when you did..."

"Damn straight. They're still just about to rip each other's throats out. After our party tonight, though, everything will be fine. Money will be a bit tight, but we just gotta get to the Mysterious Islands before y'all and steal the treasure. After that we'll be just fine."

"Wanna get a drink?" Nathan asked, looking over at the bar everyone had been in the day before.

"Cap'n, I got the..."

A smile covered her face and she said, "C'mon, Benny. Nathan just invited us to drinks. His treat."

"I never said-"

"Let's go!" She exclaimed, linking arms with both Benjamin and Thomas and leading them away.

Nathan sighed and followed her, a small smile creeping up on his face.


	13. Chapter 13

"Anna! What brings you back?" Denaye asked, looking up from the cup she was washing.

"These two miss me already, and want one more last drink together."

She laughed. "Who wouldn't? You tend to make people worry and care about you."

I shrugged.

"Oi! Is that the bastard Jones I see?"

I turned and saw someone I hadn't seen since the beginning of my pirate days.

"Old, cranky Captain Theon?"

"Damn straight. Are you here after that bastard Leywei?"

"Aye. Actually, are you?"

"If I need to be. Depends on the bastard that asks me."

"Makes sense. You don't wanna go straight into it with someone you can't trust."

"Aye. That's why I'll only go if you ask me to fight."

"You flatter me, Theon. But you don't know what you're getting into."

"How hard could it be? I mean, Blackbeard-"

My foot slammed down on his back and held him down on the table. "I said, you don't know what you're getting into. Blackbeard has nothing to do with it. Blackbeard isn't Leywei. Shut up."

"Shit," he breathed, "it's true."

"What's true, bastard?"

"You got stronger. A lot stronger."

"No shit. Now listen to me. I want you on my side, but you and your crew might end up dying."

"I'm a pirate, Jones. I get it."

"No. You don't. People will die in this fight."

"It's possible."

"It's certain!" I exclaimed, slamming my fist down on the table right next to his head. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, trying hard not to blurt out the looming reality in front of Nathan and Thomas. "Come to my ship in an hour. I can't talk much right now."

"Anna-"

"Thomas, Nathan, let's go to another bar. Benny, call Ian, Jacob, and Mike. Tell Tyler shopping is his responsibility today. Stay on the ship."

"Aye."

"So, Miss Anna... Who was that man?"

"His name is Leonard Theon. Captain of a ragtag bunch on the Misfits. A fitting name if you ask me."

"Aren't they in with the navy?" Nathan asked.

"Sort of. The navy doesn't like them, but none of the members are wanted. They bag in enough treasure to pay fees of arrest and don't hold any type of bounty. It's a dislike/hate relationship."

"Weird."

"Maybe they're weird, but his crew can fight. They're invaluable information brokers too."

Our drinks arrived and the boys drove right in, while I gazed at my glass of water with apprehension.

"Didn't you say something about figh-" Nathan started.

"I'm leaving port today." I said, making up my mind.

"Wait, what!?" Thomas exclaimed.

"Weren't you supposed to leave tomorrow, right after us?"

"Yeah, but things change. I'll see y'all on the water." I said, swigging down most of the water in one gulp. I tipped my hat to the boys and paid my fee to the kind waitress, then ran out of the tavern without another word.

"Sorry, I'm late." I said, coming into the dining room and plopping down. Quickly I filled Theon in on the war, and my possibility of dying, but even with that information he still agreed to fight with me.

"Great. Now, we have two weeks to get to the Mysterious Islands. Let's go."

"Oi! Where's Jonsie!?" An obnoxiously familiar voice called from outside.

"God damn it." I muttered, standing up. "We just left the goddamn port! Get off my ass!"

"I can already feel the love!"

I groaned.

Captain Lee met us with his own crew a short while later. There were now four ships sailing, including Bonnibelle. Captain Van was going to join us day after tomorrow with several of his connections, and by then we'll only be about a week out from war.

"Oi! There's gonna be another captain joining us later, the day after tomorrow! He's got an alliance with some captains from the south and east seas, so they should join us around then as well."

"Yes, ma'am!"

I sat quietly on the deck of my ship, thinking. Someone was lurking behind the corner, expecting to ambush me, but they were nowhere near sneaky or fast enough to do so. My foot got them right in the ribcage and they flew back against the wall of the dining room. Slowly they stood up, and the scrawny figure looked dazed.

"Captain… Jones..." They muttered, swaying on the spot.

"Captain Alan?"

"Aye…" He said, regaining himself and clutching his ribs, "I came to ask about Morgan."

"What about him?"

"Is it true that Leywei is targeting his ship?"

My arm moved just under his chin and pressed him against the wall, restricting his airflow. "Who told you?"

"No one," He choked, "Leywei's been flaunting his plans to the council."

"God damn it." I spat, releasing Alan. Leywei's actions only confirmed that he knew I hadn't told the Pirate King his plans.

I smell a rat.

"Alan, are you planning on fighting with us?"

"If Leywei is planning on attacking, I'll definitely fight back. The title of Pirate King is mine!"

He'll be fighting for the wrong reason, but whatever… "Alright. You and your crew will be useful to me. Defend Morgan's ship for the time being, and make sure he doesn't get too close to the brigade. But, do not let him see you. If the crew finds out about the war, everything will be over."

"Aye aye!"

"'My love, so far, if there was a single star in this vast sky, which should I give to you?' 'I don't need one single star, for the only ones I see are in your eyes.' Then she gouges out his eyes and kills herself after they rot. Her last words will be, 'Because I can no longer see the stars, I have nothing left I need to see.'"

"Jones!" Captain Stewart exclaimed, bursting into the dining room.

"What? What's wrong!?" I replied. If he was using my actual name instead of that stupid ass nickname, something was definitely wrong.

"I've just received word that Leywei has gained support from the navy. There's an entire fleet surrounding the Mysterious Islands."

"You're shitting me."

He shook his head grimly. "Cap'n Theon just told me. Commander Leonardo just declared war against you specifically."

"What was the reason!?"

"Well, Leywei's been spreading rumors and leaking information to the navy for years. At this point, the commander believes you to be a mentally ill serial killer, willing to gain his desires through force with the pirate army he controls, and his little Pirate King lapdog."

"At the current moment, that's not untrue."

Stewart shook his head. "He thinks you've pillaged close to a million people, either through connections and mercenaries of your pirate army or personally through torture."

"Does that fool think I'm going to show up with a fleet of pirates that stretches to hell and back?"

"Basically."

"God damn it," I spat, clenching my fists tightly. "I knew something was up when the navy goons hadn't confronted anyone in the capital. Moldor's supposed to be crawling with them." Even tighter. "This is shit. Complete shit. Why didn't I notice earlier!?"

"Your hand is bleeding, hothead."

Slowly I unclenched my fists and looked at the deep nail marks on my palms. Streams of blood flowed from them, steadily.

I need a plan.

I had Captain Stewart go through the trouble of telling my crew about the navy, and I locked myself in my study. Within the hour every map, journal, navy documentary, and naval record I owned were strewn across the room in controlled disarray. Coloured lines were sketched and erased, redrawn and crossed out many times over. Constant muttering continued under my breath, stringing words and thoughts together that probably didn't make sense. I was cutting myself off mid-thought, mid-word, starting but never completing a single one. The proper term for it was 'incoherent, crazed muttering'.

As time passed I developed a habit of pacing, biting my nails quickly following suit. Eventually, I did both simultaneously.

The ever going muttering soon became incoherent even to myself, and I feared that the stress had finally made me insane. Days and nights passing in what seemed to be restless time, continuously racking my brain, muttering, sketching and scrapping plans like I had the time to do so. Going how many ever days without food wasn't helpful either.

In the days before reaching the Moldarian port, I was eating less and less. Food was unappealing. I didn't want to eat.

When we finally got to Moldor we went so several bars, sure, but the only thing I got was water.

I was running on no food, even though it was always right outside the door.

After several more days, I think, a knock sounded at the study door. It was strange, since I remembered putting up a 'do not disturb sign, or maybe I didn't.

"Cap'n, are you in there?"

It was Benny.

"Aye..." I replied, using the word carelessly.

"Ian says you haven't been eating. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm not hungry."

To this day, how I formed a coherent sentence is beyond me.

"Okay... Let us know if ya need anything. Sorry for ignoring your sign."

I didn't respond.

His footsteps faded away, and my muddled thoughts went over what had just happened.

My sign is up. I'm not insane.

Then it clicked. I'm not insane.

I'm not insane.

"Men!" I yelled, throwing the door to my study open and stomping around the deck.

"Jonsie's alive! Sound the trumpets!" Captain Stewart called jokingly.

"Where'd she even disappear to? There was no sign of her anywhere." Captain Lee said, emerging from the dining room and standing beside Captain Stewart.

"Captain!" Tyler called suddenly, appearing from nowhere and catching me from behind. "Be careful! You almost fell over!"

"Yeah yeah," I said, getting back on my feet. "Where's everyone else?"

"Ben's in the cargo hold, he'll be a minute." Mike replied.

Ian hesitantly held my arm and clung to it when I didn't reject him.

"Cap'n, you look deathly pale. Are you sure you don't want to eat somethin first?" Jacob asked.

Benny finally showed up, and I was struggling to gather my thoughts. Several days in a dimly lit, cramped study all by myself left my mental state in maximum chill mode, and now I was surrounded by people. To say the least, I was disoriented along with the fact that my legs were about to give out under my weight.

"The navy," I started, clutching Ian's arm for stability. "The navy. They… They don't like pirates! So… so Leywei…"

My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, Ian's arm being the only thing keeping me from falling on my face.

"Cap'n!" Benny exclaimed, kneeling down and holding my shoulders.

"He's... he's just-"

"Cap'n, you need to eat something, then take a nap. Whatever you have to say can wait-"

"No!" I screamed, jumping up and pushing him off of me. Standing on my own, I took a shaky breath and continued. "Leywei… the navy… pigeons…"

The floor was cold and dirty. I didn't have the strength to tell those idiots that the layer of dust I was lying on was unacceptable. At least I didn't have to deal with it for long.

{...}

Things were quiet. Well, as quiet as a pirate ship full of men could be. Not to mention that one would cry almost all the time, over almost anything. There was also a drunkard Captain, who would say he always drank this much, and that you were imagining things. Next was an angsty teen swordsman vigorously practicing, and acting like he didn't care. After him was a bitchy navigator scratching old parchment with a quill, covering his writing and telling you that it was none of your business. There was a stoic chef, angrily forcing a butcher knife through a fish and onto the cutting board, glaring and saying to get out of his kitchen before he chopped you up too. Finally, there was the sadly smiling and levelheaded doctor. He sat in the sick bay just listening, reminiscing about days prior over the heavy and violent silence.

On that not so quiet ship, no one noticed the enemy ship staying just so far ahead. Even if they had, it could easily be mistaken for a bird or debris on the horizon. That was until a random cannonball fell onto the deck.

"What the hell!?" The swordsman exclaimed, jumping back from his practice and scanning the area surrounding the ship. "We're under attack!"

Within thirteen seconds everyone was on the deck, armed and ready to fight, but nothing followed that one stray cannonball.

"There isn't even anyone around here…" The navigator said, scanning the area.

"What about over there? Isn't that a ship?"

The captain looked out on the horizon and clicked his tongue. "It's Alan."

{...}

When I woke, the atmosphere made me uneasy. I sat up with alarming ease, and I realized my body had loosened up considerably. I felt light. I felt alive.

"She has to wake up soon! This is a dire situation!" I heard Captain Stewart yelling from outside the sick bay.

"She's been out for two days. I don't know when she's going to wake up."

"Geez, y'all are noisy. What are you out here screaming about?" I asked, emerging from the sick bay.

"Jones!" he exclaimed, clamping his hands down on my shoulders. "We have a problem."

"I assumed so. But, I have good news. There's no way Leywei got the navy to work with him. They're not stupid, and he's not smart."

"Listen, Jones, things have happened since you passed out. First, we know about the navy. Second… The Sirius found Alan. They're almost caught up to us."

My heart dropped. "You're kidding. You're fucking kidding."

Stewart shook his head.

A sigh escaped my lips, then I smiled. "Well, it was going to happen sooner or later."

The instant Alan's ship caught up to us, the Sirius arriving on the horizon, I swung over and mercilessly beat the shit out of him. I screamed that I sent him so that if the Sirius did spot him, he could pass it off as looking for a fight without raising suspicion. My freak out was mostly over by the time the Sirius arrived.

"Anna! It seems you're having a party without us!" Morgan called, looking at the four ships around his.

"Well, there's going to be more ships coming. So you guy might want to head out before it gets a bit too hectic." I said, eying Morgan sharply.

"What do you mean by that?" He replied, eying me as well.

"I'm saying that you guys need to get lost and shove off. Stay away from me for a bit. Got it?"

"Miss Anna, you're acting strangely." Thomas said, poking out from behind Russell.

I looked at him with cold eyes, glaring. "I'm not acting weird. I just dropped the bullshit kind and vulnerable act. Now, like I said, get out of here."

"You're lying."

My eyes darted to Nathan, and I triple checked my words. Not once did I slip, so how could he tell? Then I realized, the hesitation my face was proof enough. In slight desperation, mostly anger, I grabbed his collar and snapped, "Listen to me, bastard, you might think you can see through my little lies, but in reality you don't know jack shit. I'm telling you to get out of my sight, so I mean get out."

His hand moved up to grab mine, but my crew foresaw an attack. Benjamin acted first, and in an instant his hand move I shot him a glare so intense it made everyone around me freeze.

"Don't you fucking dare, Benny. If you even touch him, I won't hold back on you."

Benjamin stood immobile, and the rest of the men on board took three steps back.

"Now listen, you dense shithead, I'm telling you and your softass crew to scram. Go away. There's no reason for you to be here."

"Anna, as you surely recall, both of us were on the way to Skull Island to secure the treasure there. Or, have you forgotten?"

"You bet your sweet ass I've forgotten. I don't give a shit about that dusty sack of decaying bodies. There are more important things going on, so I suggest y'all leave unless you want to get caught in the crossfire."

"Crossfire? Anna, are you kidding me!?" Morgan exclaimed, suddenly angry as he stepped towards me.

"Unfortunately not. Now that you know, are you finally going to fucking leave?"

"Of course not! Who do you think I am?"

Who do you think I am?

Slowly I released Nathan's collar, and I turned to face Morgan.

Bodies laid on the deck of the ship, streams of blood collecting into pools. The backdrop of an inky black sky stretched out above, and an army stood surrounding me. Green tinted, grubby, bloodstained hands that I had burned into my retinas fidgeted in the reflected reality I was living.

"Who do you think I am?" I laughed, looking up at the pirate Captain. "Oh, no. The real question is, who do you think I am?"

"Anna? You're shaking." Nathan said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

My foot hit him square in the torso, sending him flying back into several people. Again my eyes returned to Morgan and I said, "Listen, you bastard, I don't care if you're the Pirate King or Emperor of the World. I will not allow you to interfere with this war."

"As Pirate King, I order you to allow my crew and me to fight."

"You order me? I refuse."

"You understand that refusing an order from the Pirate King means you are prepared to fight to the death?"

"You understand that I will never take an order from a man again and that if you stand in my way I will kill you?"

Morgan reached into his coat for his pistol. "Well then, let's fight."

"No." Benjamin said, standing in front of me. "You're strong, but not as strong as the Pirate King."

I'm stronger than the Pirate King will ever be. Benny has no idea how strong I am. I can definitely trump the Pirate King on any given day, but if everyone learns that now…

"Move." I said, looking down at the ground.

Maya and Sue laid just to the side of Morgan, holding each other. I remember it distinctly, Sue had both arms around Maya, whose arms were held to her chest. It was heartbreaking. This was the scene I chose to remember, rather than…

A green tinted arm grabbed one of them and pulled them away.

I remember thinking, why won't you leave them alone? They're dead, they can't feel anything anymore… But then I realized that these men raped them, even in death, just to set me off.

I'm scared of feeling this way again.

"No. I won't let you get killed."

I laughed, and sent him flying across the deck. "Don't you dare tell me no, Benjamin. I am your captain. It's your job to listen to me."

He propped himself on his elbows, trembling with fear. Slowly his eyes met mine, and I glared once more.

"You may be my first mate, but I will not hesitate to kill you." I wheeled around and faced the Pirate King. "So, old man, do you still want to fight me? I need some practice before I meet an old friend in a few days."

"Jones, stop this. You're taking it too far." Captain Stewart said, pale-faced.

"Are you going to try and stop me?"

"I will not let you harm the Pirate King. As a member of his council-" Lee started.

"You know full well not to interfere. Pirate King, answer my question."

Morgan looked around at all the faces, and rested his eyes on Benjamin. A sigh escaped his lips and he put his gun away. "How about we make a deal? If you can knock me out in one hit, we won't fight."

"Too easy. Flip it."

"What?"

"If you can knock me out in one serious hit, I will let you and your crew fight."

He looked at me like I was insane, and didn't respond right away.

"Either you hit me or I kill you. Pick one."

"Alright… I guess I'll hit you."

"Captain, do you really have to go through this much to prevent them from fighting? Is this really necessary?" Jacob asked, trying to reason with me.

"Remember, be serious about it. Try to knock me out. Go."

Morgan looked around once more, then balled his hands into fists. After several seconds he finally made his move, and gave me a mean uppercut right on my jaw.

…

"Shit," I mumbled, holding my jaw. "You've got a mean hit, but that's nowhere near enough to knock me out. You gotta do it like this." The heel of my foot landed right in the crook of his neck, too fast for him to block.

He fell with a surprising lack of race, faceplanting on the deck like a log.

"There, it's settled. The Sirius crew isn't fighting."

Several days passed and I trained the men rigorously. They had two weeks to build up any muscle, strength, stamina, and endurance they could. Even the Sirius men, who were not fighting, went through it since they refused to leave.

It was sunny, and everyone was taking a break while Ian, Alan, and Ramon, Stewart's chef, all worked to prepare lunch. I was sitting out on the bow, alone, enjoying the breeze and commotion coming from the deck.

"Anna, what are you doing?"

I looked up from my writing and smiled. "I'm just writing everything down. Clearing my head a bit."

"Do you do that often?"

"I just recently I picked it up again."

Nathan sat down beside me and watched as my quill scrawled letters onto the old parchment. His eyes traced every movement, analyzing them calmly. They showed compassion, a sense of gentleness and emotion. It made me a bit nervous.

"So," I said, distracting myself. "The war."

He sat back in his chair.

"If you and your crew are insistent on hanging around me, you'll be in the middle of a pretty heated battle."

"Ya know they can fight."

I smirked. "Yeah, I guess. But y'all haven't seen me fight."

Confusion flashed across his face. "Yeah I have. Plenty of times."

"No, you haven't seen me fight for real."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm sayin that if y'all wanna avoid a deadly brawl, I don't need ya."

"Liar."

"Shit," I mumbled. "Listen. This isn't some little play fight against Alan and a couple other ships. I'm going up against the Navy, Leywei, and a shit ton of Blackbeard's supporters. All I got is a ragtag team of captains and their crews following me. People are going to die in this fight."

"Yeah."

"The hell you mean 'yeah'? Are you not listening to me?"

"We know we might die in this fight."

"Are you mental? You don't even know what we're fighting about!"

"But you're fighting for a reason."

"What if it's the wrong reason!?"

"We're all pirates here. We're used to being the bad guys."

"Y'all are idiots." I snarled.

"Yeah."

"Look Nathan, I'm going to war because of what that asshat did to my girls and my other crewmates. He's been planning my death since he first heard of me. The guy's fucking insane. He was in cahoots with Blackbeard. I'm going to kill him."

"Okay."

"I'm going to make sure he experiences inconceivable pain, in every way I can think of."

"Okay."

"And I will kill anyone and everyone in my way."

"Okay."

I looked up from the parchment and met his eyes, glaring with seriousness. "If you follow me into this war that means you are supporting my decision to retaliate against his large-scale attack, even though it is a trap."

"Right."

"And that you are willing to kill or be killed."

"Yeah."

"If you follow me, you are in the perfect position to betray me. I will be trusting of you, so that means you can easily stab me in the back."

He was quiet.

"I either die or I don't. Are you prepared to watch me die by the hands of my fellow soldiers?"

"That won't happen."

I pursed my lips.

"I'll protect you."

I laughed. "Good luck."

There was now one week before we were supposed to reach the Mysterious Islands, and bad weather was forecasted by all of the navigators. That meant I made everyone haul ass and put everything from the decks in the cargo holds, because the way the water was moving, there was going to be at least five days of storm.

"Hoist the sails! Load the cargo boxes! Batten down the hatches! Be sure all knots are tied and all doors are locked! Come on men, move move move!"

Barking orders was fun, but having an army of men at my disposal was even more entertaining.

"Captain! Captain!" Tyler called, running up to me with a smile on his face. "I finished tying down the barrels in the cargo hold! What should I do next?"

I crossed my arms and laughed. "You're sure enthusiastic for someone who hated me a couple days ago."

"I'm… really sorry for being rude to you for so long. I just was mad because I thought I would just spend my time listening to you giving orders, but you're actually really cool! You're leading an army head first in to a war, and you took out the Pirate King in one hit! He was totally scared of you!"

I laughed again and tousled his hair. "All right, calm down. I am pretty awesome, but that's not important. How about you go over to the Sirius and see if they need any help?"

"Yes, ma'am!" He exclaimed, saluting to me.

"Oh, and Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure Russell and Thomas are doing the same job. Think of it as a favor to me."

"Um… okay, I'll make sure!" He said, waving and running off.

"Oi! Jacob! Get off your ass and move!" I yelled, kicking the chair out from under him.

He hit the ground and cried out, pouting. "Ow! Cap'n, that hurt!"

"Good. Now work."

"I have been! I'm taking a break!"

"Oh hell no. No one else is taking a break. You're not special." I said, grabbing the back of his shirt and hoisting him up.

"Well, what should I do then?"

"Go take inventory on Captain Lee's ship. They have extra food rations, so we need to figure how much to save for the pre-war feast."

"That's more of an Ian job-"

"Go!" I snapped, kicking his butt and pushing him through the door.

"Cap'n, there's a problem."

I turned and saw Mike with a grim look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"There's not enough bandages. I only have a couple rolls-"

"I've got that covered. I took some and gave them to the other ships. We won't need many, maybe five rolls at most."

"Five? That's only enough for a couple people."

"Exactly. That's all we need. Everyone else needs them more than we do."

"Are you sure? Tyler n' you are gonna-"

"Trust me. I won't need any bandages."

His expression softened and he smiled, his gap tooth making him look like an overgrown child. "If you say so."

"Don't look at me like that. I know what I'm doing."

"That's what worries me, Cap'n."

I smiled. "Good."

"Benny, come here!" I called, swinging over from the bow to the deck.

"What is it, Cap'n?" He asked, appearing behind me.

"Go make sure Captain Stewart has his shit together. He's probably flirting with Captain Lee instead of making his crew work."

"Wait." He said, grabbing my wrist as I went to walk away.

"What?"

"Something's wrong with you. Are you okay?"

"Fine. Why?"

"You seem so tense. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."

"I hate it when you do that." He mumbled.

"What did you just say?" I snarled.

"You always say 'I'm fine,' or 'don't worry about it.' Of course I worry. You're always like this and I hate it."

"You're spewing nonsense. Forget it, I'll check on that bastard myself-"

"It's not nonsense!"

I flinched, and slowly turned to face him. His fists were clenched tightly, and he almost looked like he was about to cry.

"Why don't you get it, Cap'n? For years it's been like this, but you just don't get it."

"Benny?"

He hugged me, and the shock from it rendered me useless for several seconds. Then I realized, no one had passed by for several minutes.

"I swear to god, if you're planning something-"

"How could you think that of me? Do you really distrust me that much?"

"Don't take it personally. I won't ever trust any man."

"I do take it personally! I feel so close to you, but at the same time you act so far away. Why do you do that? Why do you refuse to let me in?"

"You damn well know why." I snarled, pushing him away from me.

"But I love you, Captain! I promise, I could never hurt you like Andy did! I can protect myself! I promise, I could treat you better-"

My foot moved so fast, I almost didn't realize I had kicked Benny clear across the deck. "Don't you dare say you could treat me better than Andy did. Don't you fucking dare."

"But Cap'n-"

"How dare you try to undermine me like that. 'I can treat you better,' huh? You're not on the right track. You can't even convince me not to kill you."

Fear flashed across his face. "Cap'n, you're joking."

"I don't know, you really kind of pissed me off just now." I said, walking towards him with an intense glare in my eyes. "I don't mind that you love me, Benjamin, but I do mind you trying to say my wife wasn't the best person for me, and that you're better than her. That, I won't fucking tolerate."

"I'm sorry, but I just… I just really love you…"

I dropped my glare and looked at him normally. "Listen. I know how it feels to love someone and not have them love you back, or even ignore your feelings. It sucks. It really fucking sucks, but I'm sorry. I shouldn't have threatened to kill you, so I'm sorry for that too."

Benny stood up and wiped his eyes. "Can I at least have a hug?"

I smiled and held my arms open for him.

He hugged me tightly, and I could feel his shoulders shaking the slightest bit. "Anna…" He mumbled softly, as if he was testing it out. "No, that's weird. Captain suits you much better."

I pulled away and said, "I think so too."

{...}

It was just before dinner time, and Captain was helping the other cooks and I prepare. I had been extremely uncomfortable the entire time, and I had to link arms with her to calm down even the slightest bit. For some reason I always felt better when she was around. Something was off about her today, though. She seemed especially tense, and flinched when someone spoke to her.

"Ian, do you need to take a break? You must be tired."

I looked up and met her eyes. That was something she always did. No matter how much she was struggling, suffering, or hurting, she always put other people first. Even though it was worrying at the same time.

Ever since I first met her, she's taken care of me. She's the only person in my life who's ever taken care of me…

* * *

When I was a kind, I didn't have many friends. My father tried really hard to introduce me to people, but because of my white hair kids were afraid of me. Then I met a girl named Rya.

"Hello Rya." I mumbled, staring at the ground as I anticipated her comments.

There was no noise for several seconds, and just as I was about to look up two hands grabbed mine enthusiastically.

"Hi, Ian! It's so nice to meet you!"

Rya was a typically normal girl. Brown hair, blue eyes, a somewhat small stature. She was older than me by four years, so despite being small she was still bigger than me.

Soon Rya and I were together every day. She introduced me to many other people, but no one was as nice as her. I don't think I felt the same way about her as I feel about Captain, but I was too young to know about that anyway.

Rya used to braid my hair a lot. She always told me how much she liked it, and after a while she started massaging my neck. It hurt sometimes, but she told me she was just getting the knots out. I believed her.

When I turned 16, Rya told me that I looked really grown up. I told her I had to be, since Dad was getting tired.

Later that year, Rya touched me in other places. She played with my hands often. She hugged me all the time. She'd touch my chest, stomach, and back, telling me I was so manly. She wasn't taller than me anymore.

I remember the first time Rya scared me. She touched me in a place I didn't touch myself, and when I told her I didn't like it, she told me I'd thank her later.

When I went home and told Dad about it, he laughed and said boys don't cry about that stuff. Boys should be happy that a girl likes them that much.

So, for five years after that, I didn't talk about it. Soon, I didn't talk at all.

Once I turned 21, Dad said that I should marry Rya. I didn't have a reason not to, so I bought a ring picked out by the shopkeeper and went to ask her. But, when I went to her house she wanted to touch me again.

At this point I had realized that when I let her do what she wanted, it was over faster. It wasn't like that this time, though. It was too late once Rya started taking off her clothes. I was scared.

"Don't worry, you'll like it." She purred in my ear, tracing my sides with her fingertips.

"No, I don't want to. I'm scared, Rya."

She smiled, sliding her shirt of and getting on top of me. "You were scared before I did other stuff, right? You'll like this too."

I was terrified of Rya. She'd never done anything like this before. I didn't like it, so I pushed her and ran.

Somehow I ended up in an alley closer to the main part of the city. I cried for a long, long time. Rya found me.

"Ian, baby, are you okay?" She asked, kneeling down beside me.

I couldn't say anything. She scared me too much.

She reached for me again, but stopped for some reason.

"Well, isn't this just what I needed?"

I looked up to see a tall silhouette, hands on their hips and a pirate captain hat on their head. They seemed pretty small, but the atmosphere around them was huge.

Rya smiled. "Who are you?"

I could make out a terrifying smirk on their face. "It doesn't matter. Can't you see that boy doesn't want you to touch him?"

Rya laughed. "Any boy would want me to touch them. Besides, I don't think that's any of your concern."

The person grabbed her shirt and pulled her up close to their face, snarling, "What, wanna fight about it, little bitch?"

Rya moved to punch them, but they threw aside with ease. She got up quickly, though, but the other person did something like pushing her back and kicking her feet out from under her so she hit her head.

The person knelt down a little bit away from me and asked, "Are you alright?"

I couldn't say anything to them.

They held out their hand to me, and I took it hesitantly. When we stood up I finally saw their face, and I was honestly surprised. They had an eyepatch over their left eye, and a scar over their right. There was a deadly scowl on their face as well. Somehow, I thought it was extremely beautiful.

"You know her?" They asked, referring to Rya.

I nodded.

They shook their head. "Damn shame." They held out their hand and said, "The name's Captain Jones, by the way."

I took their hand again and shook it awkwardly, their grip just a little too strong for me.

"We better take her back to wherever she belongs. You know?"

I nodded again.

"Alright." They said, throwing Rya over their shoulder. They held out their hand for me once more, and I looked up with a confused expression.

"You must be pretty shaken up, right? You can hold on to me."

Slowly I took their hand, and I sort of hugged their arm. They didn't mind that I cried. They didn't mind my hair. They didn't mind that I was upset over what happened. I was thankful. For a little bit, I felt better.

"Alrighty, well, you feel a little better?"

I nodded, still clinging to their arm.

They eyed me, and looked at me seriously. "You don't wanna stay here, do you?"

I shook my head.

"Can you cook?"

I nodded. My dad was a chef, after all.

"Then how about you come with me on my ship? I can teach you how to fight and give you a new home, and in return you can cook for me and my crew."

I held their arm just a little bit tighter, and I really didn't want to let go. I didn't want to feel scared again. So, I nodded.

"Just tell me, what's your name?"

My eyes met theirs, and the look they gave me made my heart thump. "...Ian."

* * *

"Ian?"

I flinched, and Captain looked at with me with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Mhm."

She smiled softly and said, "Let's take a little break. You've been working all day."

She took me just outside to the deck and sat down with me, her hand holding mine like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I need to tell you something, Ian. Do you promise not to tell Benny until I call the meeting?"

I nodded.

She took a deep breath and looked out onto the ocean, her hand gripping mine just a little bit tighter. "I'm going to die."

My face flushed and I felt my heart drop. She was joking. She had to be.

"Leywei's going to beat the shit out of me. He's gonna die too, of course, but I'm not gonna make it."

"But..."

"I'm gonna tell you guys, but I'm not telling anyone else. I got them all here because I said I'm going to survive, but that was a lie." She turned to me and smiled. "I thought if I told you I might feel better, but now I know that was a lie too. I think I've only accepted it accepted it more now."

I grabbed both of her hands and pulled them to my chest, desperation screaming on my face but no words coming out of my mouth.

"Sorry. Did I just make you upset?" She asked, tears spiking from her eyes as a pained smile covered her face.

"You...!"

She wiped her eyes, and moved to stand up. "I have to check on-"

I threw my arms around her as tears fell from my own eyes, my mind trembling as my body racked with fear. Somehow I found my words and exclaimed, "You can't die!"

She laughed and wrapped her arms lightly around me. "It's too late now, Ian."

"But...! But I never...!"

"Never what, Ian?"

"I never... told you..."

"What do you want to tell me?"

My arms clutched her tighter, my jaw clenching tightly as I struggled to form the words I love you.

"I... I l..."

"You'll?"

"Yeah... I'll... I'll tell you after the war."

"Ian, I'll be dead."

"No you won't."

She laughed. "Ian, let go."

"No. Say you won't die."

"But then I'd be lying."

"I don't care."

She flinched a bit, and after several seconds her arms wrapped tighter around me. "I'm... I'm not gonna die."

I held her even tighter, and she held me back as we both cried our eyes out.


	14. Chapter 14

"God damn it."

Within the next day or so, either the navy or the next wave of pirates should show up. Or, if I'm particularly unlucky, they've met each other and are fighting at the current moment.

"Oi, where's the Sirius crew?" I asked, grabbing a random pirate by the arm.

"Last I saw they were on the Bonnibelle, and it looked like they were talkin bout somethin serious."

"Where were they headed?"

"The dinin' room."

"Thanks." I said, letting him go and walking to my ship.

Once in the dining room, I saw all the men chatting and drinking. Everything was fine and dandy, but Morgan had decided to make himself at home.

The back of my foot hit him right in the nose and he flew back into the wall.

"What the hell!? Where did you come from!?" Russell exclaimed, jumping back into Thomas.

A small smirk came up on my face as I saw Russell's slight blush and Thomas's hands gently resting on his shoulders. It quickly vanished, however, and I turned my attention back to Morgan.

"Well, Pirate King, you must want me to fight you earlier than planned. It's no problem, of course, if you want to die."

"What? What did I do to piss you off?" He asked, holding his bleeding nose. A smile bubbled up on his face and he asked, "I haven't broken your heart, have I? Sorry babe, but I'm not into younger-"

When he saw my leg move again, he shut up.

"No, dipshit." I replied, shifting my weight and putting my hands on my hips. "How many fucking times do I have to say it? Keep your nasty ass feet off my goddamn table."

"I was wondering," Christopher commented, almost hesitant to enter the conversation, "every time you're in here you have your feet on the table, but you get mad when anyone else does it."

"You're right." As I spoke I grabbed the chair Morgan had been sitting in and leaned back, putting my feet up and crossing my ankles.

"Why do you do that?" Nathan asked.

"Because I'm the fucking captain, and it's my rule. My ship will be clean. I don't know if you've noticed, but my table is always clean because I don't have idiots putting their nasty feet all over it."

"But, your feet-"

"My feet are the exception. I'm the captain, and I own this ship. I'll do whatever I damn well please."

Morgan laughed a bit. "The one thing you're not selfless about, huh?"

"Me? Selfless? Please. I'm the most selfish, cold-hearted bitch-"

"It's true." Morgan interjected, sitting at the opposite end of the table. "Everything you do is pretty selfless."

I made a face, but let him continue.

"You dedicated your life to your lover from the very beginning, even after she told you she didn't love you."

"Because-"

"He's right. You even got together a whole bunch of girls from troubling situations and gave them a home." Christopher said.

"But-"

"Even your new crew. Just like my brother, you've taken them from all kinds of situations and made them happy. You're really an amazing person, Miss Anna!" Thomas added happily.

"Even though you can be a bitch, you're pretty nice overall."

I looked to Nathan, and he spoke up next.

"You may think you're selfish, but in reality all these selfish reasons you have are making everyone around you happier, and all-around better people. Considering how much you've suffered in this process, it's impossible to think you're a selfish person."

At first I was irritated, but I realized something quickly. "Oh… right. You guys don't know yet." I said, dropping my gaze to the floor and hunching my shoulders.

"Don't know what?" Eduardo snarled.

I laughed a bit. "If I told you guys, you'll get mad at me."

Nathan looked at me tenderly, sighing a bit and relaxing his shoulders. "At this point, do you really think that?"

"Yeah. I'm not telling."

"Miss Anna!" Thomas sighed.

"No, you guys don't get it. I haven't even told Benny."

Their eyes went wide, and Morgan spoke up.

"Anna, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied, standing up and quickly wiping the tears from my eyes. "I'll tell everyone before the war starts, anyway. Just don't worry about it until then."

"Wait! Anna!"

I ran from the dining room, jumping off the railing of my ship and clutching a stray rope. I swung around to Captain Stewart's ship, and began barking orders at him in an attempt to snuff my guilt.

The storm clouds swept up the horizon in what seemed like seconds, pouring down rain and sending monstrous waves in the direction of my fleet. I prayed everyone else was okay.

I had called all the captains and a few crew members onto my ship since it had the biggest dining room, and we met just after sundown.

Those present in the room were my crew, the Sirius, Captain Stewart, Captain Lee, Captain Theon, Captain Alan, and all of their first mates. Theon had brought his navigator as well.

"Is this everyone?" I asked, locking the door to keep it closed.

"Yeah, we're all here."

I returned to my seat at the head of the table and crossed my ankles, resting my crossed arms on my stomach as I mulled over the topic at hand.

"I called you all in here today to discuss the next wave of pirates arriving, as well as the navy."

"The navy? Haven't we already discussed this?" Stewart asked.

I shook my head. "Leywei did tell the navy I was going to be fighting in a war, so they will be at the Mysterious Islands in an attempt to stop us. Luckily I was able to contact enough reinforcements to get us past them."

"If you've only just contacted them, will they arrive in time?" Morgan asked.

"Of course. They live in the old Viking territory."

"You contacted northerners? How!?" Alan exclaimed.

"I haven't had the chance to tell you guys, but do you remember when I was late to our meeting in Moldor? I had sent out messenger pigeons to almost every competent captain on the seven seas."

"But if you had just contacted them then, how do you expect anyone form the east seas to get here? It takes months to travel so far!"

I sighed again. "I've anticipated this war for years. I've been in close contact with many captains from the east and north seas, and almost a year ago I had instructed them to start moving. They've been heading this way before any of you even knew it."

"Is that even possible? Didn't you talk with Leywei on our ship?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah, but this is different. He wants to kill me now."

"But then why was he planning a war against you, instead of just a one on one battle?"

"Leywei's been trying to screw me over since I first became a pirate. He's insane, and believes women shouldn't be on the sea. So after he killed my crew he decided to keep pursuing me, killing my new crew members time and time again, therefore creating the stigma 'it's bad luck to have a woman on a pirate ship'. In reality, he wants to ride on a wave of glory by killing me in front of an army I scraped together. In the history books, if this is even significant enough to be written down, it'll say he took down the Big Bad Pirate King in a grand battle with thousands of soldiers, and lived on to control the entire ocean or whatever. But what he doesn't realize is the navy is bound to betray him eventually, and literally every pirate captain will be after him. He'll get killed before he can do anything with his power."

"Wait, 'Big Bad Pirate King'? Are you talking about Morgan?" Lee asked, pointing him.

"No, I'm talking about myself. I'm going to steal the title from Morgan sometime before the war."

"What!? I'll never let you take it from me! The title is mine!" Alan screamed, jumping up and trying to get his gun.

"Sit down you oaf," I spat. "I don't even want the title. I'll only need it for a little while, then I'll give it to someone else."

He didn't understand and was a bit confused, but I took it he just shut up.

"As I was saying, there are many ships still heading this way. We'll all be meeting on a small island among the Mysterious Islands the night before, then we'll all head out together. There'll be a feast and a discussion of the battle plan."

"Do we have the supplies for a feast? All of us are gonna burn through our supplies during this storm." Nathan said.

"I know. I sent lists and money along with the carrier pigeons, so the other ships should be capable of getting supplies at ports on their way."

The room was quiet for a second, and someone I wasn't quite expecting spoke up.

"Captain Jones, who are you?"

I met eyes with Theon's navigator, a tall and lanky boy of only 17 years. He had short black hair and pale skin. In my opinion, he was intellectually competent but lacked any kind of aura.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been planning out an entire war for over a year by yourself and kept in contact with the entire network of pirate captains, but you haven't caused a global panic or even a hint of suspicion? Can you truly control the global pirate network even more so than the Pirate King? Is it possible for a woman's name to carry so much weight?"

I eyed Theon and asked, "He's new, isn't he?"

He nodded.

I gave a long sigh and reluctantly stood up, swinging my hips with hands in my pockets as I made my way over to him. "Listen, kid. My name carries weight in the world beyond pirates. Everyone in the navy, entertainment industry, and business world knows my name. I'm kind of a big deal."

The kid looked at me skeptically.

"Do you want to know what I say so no one ever forgets me?"

"What?"

I smirked and hissed, "Fight me."

He laughed. "Seriously? You want me to fight you?"

I nodded.

He looked over to Theon, who just smiled.

"Go on, hit me." I said, bending forward to my face was closer to him. "Give me your best shot. Seriously."

"Okay, but it's gonna hurt. Don't say I didn't warn you."

He took his stance and I held my position, hands in my pockets with my torso leaned forward. It took exactly two seconds.

One; his foot moved. He brought his leg up and pivoted, turning to his foot would connect with my neck right on my pressure point.

Two; his heel landed right where it was supposed to, and the room was a bit stiff. But, before the kid could relish in his 'victory', I grabbed his relaxed leg and twisted it so quickly he lost his balance and hell in a heap on the floor.

I kept his foot twisted and pushed, putting awkward pressure on his knee and hip, as well as stretching his muscles and tendons.

"That was it? I can control the global pirate network with a wave of my hand, and you think a pressure point is enough to take me out?" I laughed, and my voice grew harsh. "I have knife scars, kid. I have broken bones right now. There's no way you can even look at me as an opponent the way you are now. I will fucking crush you."

"Cap'n, you're being a bit harsh…" Benny said, starting to stand up from his seat.

"Shut up Ben. Stay out of this." I snarled. I turned back to the boy with a blank but murderous face, staring straight into his petrified eyes. "Would you like to know what it means to fight me? Because I can show you at any second."

He couldn't say anything, partially because of his awkward position but mostly because of his fear.

"Or should I show you just how scary I can be?"

"Alright, alright, you've traumatized the poor kid enough. Let him loose now." Theon said, smiling and laughing a bit.

I released the kid and plopped back into my seat, putting my feet back up.

"I still have one question." Captain Lee said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you kill Leywei before this? Why wait until now and lose so many lives?"

I eyed him warily, and after several seconds I sighed heavily and rolled my head back. "Well, that's where my selfishness comes in. In all honesty I was never ready to fight Leywei head on, so I scrounged up every man I could find and worked and worked until I was stronger than him. But, I lost many along the way. Fifteen, to be exact. All of this was Leywei's planning, of course, trying to kill me through roundabout ways as to not get his own hands dirty. But now I'm stronger than anyone he can throw at me, so he's finally willing to take me on himself. I should be thankful he's never heard the phrase 'if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself'." I took my feet down from the table and instead rested my elbows on it, my fingers entwining as I stared straight into his eyes. "I have killed many men in the past four years. There are oceans of blood on my hands, my blade, and my bullets. I have sacrificed my own men for the sake of this mission. Four years of cold, heartless murder because I wasn't strong or brave enough to kill him and face the consequences. But now, with all of you before me, I am certain of the future and am willing to fight for it until the very end."

Ian slammed his hands down on the table, his chair clacking loudly against the ground as he stood up. His eyes looked at me again desperately, the look on his face showing clear comprehension of the words I said.

"Yes, Ian. You're right. It's too late to change it now, but it's okay. I wasn't strong enough to prevent it, so I've accepted I'm a coward. Don't you see now? It has to end this way."

"You promised!" He screamed, his trembling hands clenching into tight fists as tears streamed down his face.

"I told you, I was lying."

He looked at me with severe pain on his face, his brows furrowed so tightly in an extreme display of disbelief and betrayal. He ran from the room and slammed the door behind him, his footsteps fading beneath the sound of the rain.

"…Anna?"

I'm sure imminent shock was painfully clear on my face, and I could feel little streams of tears forming on my cheeks. "Fuck." I breathed, collapsing onto the table and burying my head in my arms. "Meeting adjourned. Get back to your ships."

"But-"

"Go!" I screamed, forcing as much power into my voice as I could before my body started trembling.

I heard everyone reluctantly shuffle out of the room, but one presence remained after everyone else had gone.

"What do you want, Navigator?" I snapped through my pathetic sobs.

"I know you're not stupid enough to die. There's no way."

"You may be intellectually competent, but it doesn't mean you're smart or wise."

"That's what you meant by cowardice, huh?"

"Shut up."

He sighed and patted me on the back. "I don't know you, Lady, but I know things might not work out like you have planned. Fate has a funny was of making things work."

"Fate, huh? For all I know, she's an ugly, twisted bitch."

"Amen."

Then, he left the room.

I was alone.

The storm grew more and more severe as time went on, and I had prohibited people from moving between ships by the second day. If someone had to move, though, it was mandatory I was with them.

Ian hadn't left the kitchen in over twenty-four hours. No one could get him to respond to anything. I knew it was useless to try.

Benny had been pestering me and pestering me about what I had told Ian, and he was bitter because he didn't know what it was. I told him it was none of his business, and he would figure it out once the storm was over. That wasn't good enough for him.

"Cap'n, I have a really bad feeling about this! Please, just tell me!" He begged, following me though the interior of the ship like a puppy.

"God damn it, Benjamin, enough!" I yelled, slamming my hand on the wall closest to me. I looked behind me, glaring at him and snarled, "I'm not going to tell you, so shut the fuck up and leave me alone!"

He looked hurt, and I felt a twinge of guilt as his shoulders and head drooped.

I slammed my bedroom door and listened to his sorrowful, retreating footsteps. A sigh escaped my lips and I slid down to the floor, tears pecking at the corners of my eyes as I hugged my knees.

Things were falling apart.

...

There is no word I know of to describe how I felt facing the eerie, skull shaped island. The sounds of war were faded, somewhere in the back of my mind as I proceeded into the damp cave which served as the skull's mouth. Disarmed traps proved Leywei had been here, and he was waiting for me. Somewhere deep inside here, he was waiting to kill me.

Something didn't feel quite right as I stepped out onto an open platform. There was no noise, not even the sound of sediment-water dripping from stalagmites.

Leywei appeared silently, emerging from behind one of the silent stalagmites with a smile on his face.

"Jones, it's nice to see you. Oh, wait, rather I call you Pirate King?"

I laughed. "Word travels fast. How'd you hear, old man?"

He smiled wider. "Your beloved crew told me."

My eyes widened and before I could react five bodies were thrown before me, hands and feet tied way too tightly and badly beaten.

"Leywei, I swear to God-"

"Shall we repeat what happened four years ago?"

"No… No!" I screamed, running to them.

A bullet pierced my shoulder, and Leywei's heel hit me straight on my spine.

"I don't think so. Take the kid first."

"No! Tyler!" I screamed, thrashing beneath Leywei's foot.

I didn't get it. How was I trapped under his one foot? I was stronger than this!

Tyler's screams were agonizing. He called for help, screaming and crying, begging and pleading for it to stop.

Jacob, Mike, Ian, and Benny all struggled against their restraints, but it was futile.

"This is your fault, Pirate King. Everything happening right now is because you didn't let Blackbeard kill you all those years ago."

Everything was happening the exact same way.

Leywei called for Jacob next, then Mike, but with only Benny and Ian left he did something strange.

"These two are important to you, right Pirate King? That makes them special."

Three men came and held me down as Leywei moved over to the two, running his perverted and twisted eyes over the entire room.

"This one's a bit too strong for me," he said, looking at Benny, "but this one has a pretty face."

"Don't touch them, you fucking pervert!" I screamed, viciously fighting against the three men holding me down.

"Men, stop for a second." Leywei said. He turned back to Ian and Benny. "How about I make you boys an offer? If you take the bitch's ragtag army off the island and never come back, I'll let you guys live."

"What about her?" Benny spat.

"Oh, she's mine. You won't have to worry about her anymore."

"We refuse." Ian said without hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

"Take it. Get everyone out of here." I said, averting my eyes so I wouldn't have to see their faces.

"Cap'n!"

"Go. I was going to die anyway, so get out of here."

"No."

I looked to see Benny and Ian with stern faces.

"Don't fuck around right now, Benjamin. Go."

"No, Captain. We're not leaving you here."

I gritted my teeth and said, "As an order from the Pirate King, I order you to accept his offer."

"I refuse."

"Captain, we're not leaving you here, no matter what." Tyler said.

"Fuck," I breathed, "just get out of here! Benjamin, even if I miraculously survive, I'll have to kill you for disobeying a direct order from the Pirate King!"

"If I'm going to die, I'd rather die protecting you."

"Shut up. Enough. Leywei, let me give the order to the army. I'll order everyone to leave just please don't hurt them anymore."

Leywei smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Men."

It seemed like only an instant had passed before I stood in front of the army, a blade pressed to my neck and Leywei holding an arm twisted behind my back.

"This is an order from the Pirate King. Everyone here who fought on my side is to leave immediately. Leywei's army will kill anyone who tries to stay behind."

"You can't be serious, Jones!" Captain Stewart exclaimed.

"Leave, now."

Several seconds passed, and no one moved.

"Idiots, I just gave you an order! Leave!"

"We came to fight for you, Pirate King. We're not going to leave you behind." Morgan said.

"Ah, what a shame, Pirate King. This is why hired help is worthwhile." He turned his head and said, "Kill them."

With no room for words, five necks were slit with no hesitation. Within two minutes, everyone else was dead. No one was left.

"How does it feel, knowing this was your fault? Everyone is dead because of you."

I took a deep breath and looked again at the sea of bodies lying motionless. He was right.

"If you're going to rape me, Leywei, just get it over with. Kill me already."

He smiled. "You have no idea what those words mean, Pirate King. Are you saying I've finally broken your spirit?"

The end of my life, I thought, could have been worse. They could have been forced to watch as this old man touched me, violated me, and took the only thing I had left away from me… they could have been forced to watch for however long, minutes or hours, and been able to do nothing. They could have seen my dead eyes as he cut me, tortured me, and his glee as he saw how numb I was.

I felt nothing. I could only watch as my foot was twisted so many times it came off, I had no reason to scream as my ribs were individually broken. I didn't even realize I was dead, until there was nothing but black.

Something lurched and I felt myself fall, hitting a hardwood floor and being chased by a mountain of fabric. I scrambled to collect myself, desperately looking around and hearing the sounds of rain.

Footsteps grew closer and I frantically searched for a weapon, but by the time the door opened the only things around me were a candle stand and my shoes.

The door opened and the candle stand hit the wall just beside it, my aim being thrown off by my panic.

"Whoa! Cap'n, are you alright? I came to check up on ya since I heard a thud."

Jacob… Jacob!?

I ran and threw my arms around him, pressing my head against his chest and listening to his slightly accelerated heartbeat.

"Cap'n…?"

"Call a meeting. Right now. I'll convince Ian, but I need you guys right now."

"I understand."

I ran to the kitchen, in my pajamas, through the rain with no shoes on. In all honesty I must have looked like both an idiot and a mess, which I was, but it didn't matter.

With no hesitation I kicked down the kitchen door, breaking the locks with ease and startling the sleeping Ian. Before he could collect himself and find any kind of weapon I hugged him tightly, trembling and struggling to find the right words.

"I love you…" I choked, spewing out whatever words. "I fucking love you, Ian, so please don't do anything rash. I'm going to die, but please,please don't do anything to try and stop me. Please."

"Captain…? What are you talking about?"

"Please… I know I betrayed you by lying to you, but I can't change it now… Just come into the dining room for a minute. There's something I need to tell everyone."

He nodded.

When Ian and I came out of the kitchen the rest of the crew was already seated, droopy eyed and slightly irritated.

The instant I saw them all, I instantly lost all strength in my legs and burst into tears.

"Cap'n!?" They exclaimed, jumping up from their seats and wide awake.

"I fucking love you guys… all of you, I love you guys so much…"

"Cap'n, what happened?"

As I relayed my dream to them, looks of horror crossed their faces and they started to crowd in closer to me.

"So I ordered everyone off the island, but they wouldn't fucking listen and said they came to fight, so Leywei just said, 'kill them.' That was it. All of you were dead, and everyone else was killed within a couple minutes, and it was my fault. After that Leywei did things to me, but I couldn't feel anything. I wasn't scared and nothing hurt, and I didn't wake up until I was apparently dead. The worst part about it was it was all my fault. Everything that has been happening, anything that will happen to anyone, it's my fault. If you guys die, it's my fault and I fucking hate myself for being so goddamn selfish and pulling you guys into this. Everything would be better if I just disappeared, if I had just died four years ago-"

"Don't talk like that!" Tyler exclaimed, throwing his arms around me. "Don't you dare even think those things!"

"But Tyler, it must have been so scary… a huge man touching you, violating you with a sickening smile as you scream and scream-"

"It's okay! It wasn't real, right? It was just a dream! Nothing will happen to me!"

"Tyler…"

"He's right, Cap'n. You've been training us for things like this ever since we've been a part of your crew. We're ready for this." Mike said, putting a reassuring hand on my trembling shoulder.

"He's right. Even if something does happen to us, we're strong. We're going into this war prepared to lose everything." Jacob said, smiling sweetly.

"That doesn't make me feel better!" I screamed, standing up and slamming my fist against the dining room wall. "I don't want you guys to get hurt! I don't want anything to happen to anyone, but I know I can't do this alone…"

Once again I sank to the floor, tears falling from my eyes at a more rapid pace. "I feel so guilty… I don't want anyone to get hurt, but if I don't kill Leywei now he'll kill me before I see my twenty-sixth birthday. If anyone gets hurt it'll be my fault, everything going on is my fault and I don't know what to do."

"Do you really think that?"

I looked up and saw Morgan's stern face.

"What the hell are you doing here? Go to your own goddamn ship." I spat, standing up and wiping my eyes.

"Nathan wanted to ask about somethin', but I'm assuming this is a bad time."

I noticed Nathan standing beside him and got irritated. "Tch. You're soaked. Didn't I tell you dumbasses not to move between ships without me?"

"You were crying, so we suited ourselves."

I clenched my teeth and turned away, releasing an irritated sigh. "Ben, Mike, get them a change of clothes. Tyler, Jacob, go get some towels. Ian, can you please make some tea?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

They all left to do their jobs and I sat in my chair, crossing my ankles on the table and sighing deeply. "So, Nathan, what did you want to ask?"

"You've been acting weird since we've met up with you again. It took me awhile to realize it, but are you actually scared?"

"Are you stupid? Of course I'm scared. You just eavesdropped on me spilling my guts out to my crew and telling them how I feel guilty. Of course I'm not exactly worry-free at the moment."

He peered at me, head tilted slightly. "I don't wanna think this, but… are you planning on dying?"

I shot a glare at him and snarled, "What the fuck? What delusional thoughts lead you to that conclusion?"

"The way you're acting, what you're saying… it's out of character. You're being more reckless and open. It's like you're trying to say everything you can before you can't say it anymore."

Damn, he's sharp.

"What the hell? I've said this over and over again, I didn't come so far just to die!"

"Well, what do you have after this? Aren't you trying to kill this guy to avenge Andy? You said it yourself, your motivation is revenge. Are you just afraid of not being able to-"

I slapped him right across the face, the embarrassment and anger I felt being more than overwhelming. What gave him the right to call me out like that? Who does he think he is? How can he see right through me?

"Shut up. Just… shut up."

"Cap'n…" Ian said shyly, holding the tea tray in his slightly trembling hands.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Ian. I know it scares you when I get violent. I didn't know you were there."

He shook his head slowly, looking down a bit.

"Oh… Yeah." My gaze shifted to the ground as well, and I gathered my words. "I did lie to you, Ian. I told you before that, but I lied. I shouldn't have done that, and I probably shouldn't have even told you in the first place. I'm sorry."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen, slamming the door behind him and pushing me against the wall.

"Oh? This is new. What's wrong, Ian? What's got you so worked up?"

"You… Are you not taking this seriously!?"

I flinched a bit at the severity in his tone. "What are you talking about?"

"If you're going to die… Then stop reminding me! I won't believe it! I don't want to!"

"Ian!" I exclaimed, grabbing his arms.

"You promised me! You said you'd stay alive until I told you!"

"Ian, calm down! You're not yourself!"

"You told me 'I can teach you how to fight and give you a new home, and in return you can cook for me and my crew.' Do you remember that? Was that a lie, too?"

"What? Of course not! Ian, you're not making sense!"

"This won't be home without you! If you're not around anymore, than I won't have anyone to call my family anymore…"

I smiled and rested my hand on his shoulder, using the other to tilt his chin up. "What do you think I brought you here for? I kind of failed since you guys can't function without me, but you guys are a family. You'll learn to live without me."

"No! I don't want to!"

"Ian, what did you expect!? We are pirates! You have to learn to accept this sort of thing!"

"Captain, I… I want to be with you forever. I want to stay here, making memories with you. We can eat strawberries, explore the ocean with everybody, and maybe… maybe we can…"

"We can what?"

He rested himself against me, enveloping me in his arms in an embrace almost as gentle as the ones Andy would give me. I felt warm and protected though, since Ian was taller and bigger than me. In my romantic endeavors I'd always been the protector, but for some reason being protected just felt so… nice…

"Can we just… stay like this? Maybe… maybe something more?"

My heart rate skyrocketed, and I felt trapped in his gentle embrace. His hand cupped my face and tilted it up, and as his lips came closer and closer I didn't understand why I couldn't freaking move.

His lips brushed mine so gently I almost doubted it happened, but I felt them touch again. He held me so gently, like some kind of treasure that was as fragile as porcelain. His lips were soft and warm, greeting mine almost like it was practiced.

I… I'm scared…

In a panic I shoved Ian away from me, covering my mouth with the back of my hand as tears gathered in my eyes. Without thinking I ran, hearing him call me desperately, but I was terrified. I tried to run through the dining room with no confrontation, but Benny caught me by the shoulders.

"Captain, are you alright? We heard a lot of yelling…"

In my state of fear my judgement was clouded, so I foolishly looked up at him with my tear-streaked, beet red face.

"A-Anna!? What happened in there!?" Nathan exclaimed, running over to me.

"Captain! Wait!" Ian exclaimed, bursting into the dining room.

I broke away from Benny and ran as fast as I could to my room, slamming the door and locking it before I slid into a heap on the floor. I hugged myself as I shivered, my thoughts whirring a thousand miles a second. Whatever was going on in my head was fueling my adrenaline and fear. All I could think was that I wanted to disappear.

{...}

"Ian, what did you do to Captain!?" Benjamin exclaimed, grabbing his collar and lifting him off the ground.

Ian looked away, a sorrowful expression showing under his reddened cheeks. "I… kissed her."

"You what!? Are you an idiot!? You know that she's afraid of men! She's probably locked in her room, scared out of her mind right now!"

"I know… I didn't mean it…"

"Well, I'm a little bit to blame too… I confessed to her a few days ago, and she's been acting weird ever since…"

"So that's why…" Nathan mumbled under his breath, clutching the damp towel he'd used to dry his hair.

"We're only four days out from war now… is she going to be okay?" Tyler asked worriedly.

"Knowing her… we might be in trouble." Mike said, looking at the door she had disappeared through only minutes before.

"…Do you guys really love her?" Morgan asked, peering at the two.

"What?"

"Do you truly love Anna?"

"What kind of question is that? Why are you even asking?"

"I don't know."

Benjamin released Ian, who brushed himself off and stood to the side.

"Captain… is the first person to ever show me kindness in my life. Everything about her is just so amazing, and I often find myself thinking that I wouldn't mind spending forever with her. She doesn't want someone to protect her, but rather to be there for her and to love her… If I could be that person, I'd be so happy I think I might die." Ian said, hugging his legs as he rested against the dining room wall.

Benjamin looked at the ground and took a deep breath. "Captain is… Captain is the reason I'm alive today. When we first met, it was back when she was a waitress at a bar in Moldor. She was a mess, slicing her hand on a wine glass and running into everything. I honestly thought she must have been kind of ditzy, but when I met her again I was proved completely wrong. There was just something about her... I wanted to follow her."

Up until almost three years ago, I belonged to a different pirate ship. I was sold when I was really young into a crime group, but when I couldn't steal from targets as easy as other children or the elderly, they put me back on the market. I was bought by that group of rogue pirates and they hoped to use me as a killing machine. I hated it. Every day I would kill birds and rats. Failure meant heavy punishment. Their mindset of rape, kill, and steal from anyone and anything started taking its toll on me. There was no shame or sense of morality.

I remember on the night I first met her, our captain was interested in her. He insisted that she was a pirate at one point in her life, due to her scar and eyepatch. He kept giving her this lewd glance, and I feared for her. The cruelty I received for helping her was intense, but looking back on it I'm glad I did. That's how we remembered each other when we met again.

A year later I was in Ajida, investigating the ancient Kreon artifacts when things got a little sticky.

"Hey! I said let go of me you creep!" Someone yelled.

I looked over and saw a girl, small in stature but with a huge aura surrounding her. In one swift movement her fist connected with some guys jaw, sending him stumbling back into a pile of empty boxes and barrels. In the next instant, however, she was surrounded.

I was prepared to leave, not wanting to be a witness in the gang rape and murder of a pretty young girl, but she surprised me. There were five men, all attacking her at once, each one definitely twice her size, but she fought against them with no fear. Punching, kicking, swearing and snapping like nobody's business. I was entranced. Never in my life had I seen a girl square up against her attackers instead of instantly calling for help. It was only when she was knocked over did I see her whole face.

I recognized her as the girl from the bar the previous year, her eyepatch and scar triggering my memory. Something inside me made me break through the circle of guys and stand between them, protecting her from their malicious hands.

"You guys are low. You should know when ta get lost."

"What the hell? Is this bitch your woman or something?" One of them spat.

My fist hit him right in the throat, causing him to fall over.

"W-whoa! He just hit Boss right in the throat! Get him!"

It would have been easy for me to fight the four remaining men, but before I could throw one hit the girl pushed me out of her way and finished them herself.

"Thanks for your help, but I didn't need it." She said, rubbing her face where a deep purple bruise had already formed.

"Well shit, I shoulda just left you to get raped then." I spat.

She looked at me for a second, then drew her brows close together. "Do I know you?"

I flinched. "No, I don't think so. I would remember someone like you."

Her hand moved from her cheek to her eyepatch and she sighed. "Sorry. I just feel like I've seen a face like yours before."

She reached out and grabbed my chin, pulling me closer to her with strength I didn't expect.

"No, I've met you before. Your face is too pretty to forget. I don't think I learned your name, though."

I jumped away from her and yelled, "Who do you think you are!? Don't touch me!"

She pressed her face closer to mine, and then she had a moment of realization. "Your eyes... I remember now. I met you when I used to work at Denaye's bar in Moldor. Your eyes are cloudier now, though. Are you oka-?"

I slapped her hand as it reached for me once more and yelled, "Don't touch me, you stupid bitch!"

She was taken aback for a second, but then her expression softened. "I guess not... You're with Captain Andris, right?"

"What the hell? Are you stalking me or something?"

She gave an irritated sigh and said, "Your attitude is starting to piss me off. To answer your question, no. I'm a pirate captain too, so I've heard my fair share about Andris."

I was surprised. "You? A pirate captain? But you're a woman!"

"Yeah, I'm a woman. A woman who can kick your sorry ass, so you need to shut the fuck up before I get really irritated!"

"Are you seriously going to fight me after I just tried to help you!?"

"I fuckin will! I'll kick your ass!"

"I dare you to fucking try!"

Something hit me out of nowhere and I saw stars, a numb sensation tingling on the side of my head. Next thing I knew I was on the ground, the other side of my head numb and tingling as well.

"Fuckin bastard, calling me a bitch. Who do you think you a-"

Her words were cut, and replaced by choking noises. I struggled to collect myself, and I could see a blurred outline of my captain holding someone up by the neck.

"This little bitch sure packs a punch, huh Benjamin?" He said, a sadistic and twisted smirk curling up on his face.

She gasped for air, clawing at his wrist and trying to kick, but being unable to land a proper hit.

"Boys, shall we take her back to the ship and show her what it means to play with pirates?"

"C-Captain, what are you-!?"

"What we always do to rowdy women, of course. When women don't know their place, it's our job to rape them until they know it. Usually they become useless after, so we can just kill her when it's not fun anymore."

The instant the word 'rape' left his mouth her face showed pure terror, and every attempt she made to fight had stopped. It was like she went limp.

Captain noticed this too, and brought her face closer to his. He studied her with the same eyes he had before, and he seemed to recognize her.

"Oh, I get it now. This is the bitch Jones, the walking death trap. Nobody's put you in your place yet, eh? Well, let us have the pleasure of doing so."

He threw her to the ground and she made no attempts to get up. It was if her mind and body had completely shut down. I didn't get it, what happened to all that spirit she had just a moment ago?

"No, Captain-!"

He stopped his advancement and turned to me, a death glare penetrating deep into my soul. "The fuck did you just say, you bastard?"

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I'm dead. He's finally gonna kill me. Well, if I'm gonna die anyway, I might as well try to do something worthwhile. "She didn't do anything, so we should just-"

His foot slammed down on the back of my head and pressed my face into the ground, making me breathe in dirt and choke.

"Know your place, rookie. You don't have a say in anything."

I heard a slight rustling and saw the girl called Jones begin to get up, her face hidden by messy hair.

"So Jones, what should we do first? Or rather, who should do you-"

She grabbed Captain's hand as he advanced and twisted it sharply, then pulled and flipped him over onto the concrete.

Everyone stared in shock, and her voice came out in one of the most murderous tones I had ever heard in my life.

"Say what you want about raping and killing me, but don't you dare hurt your own crew in my presence or I will fucking murder you."

Without being given an order the rest of the crew moved in to attack, but it only took one wide swing of her foot to send everyone back five feet.

She twisted Captain's arm behind his back and placed a dagger under his throat, pressing it against his skin with a blank but murderous expression. She glared back at the crew and said, "If any one of you pissbabies move I'll slit his throat." With her words directed at Captain she said, "So, bastard, do you wanna die today?"

"You're a foolish bitch, Jones. If we don't kill you today, someone will still be after you tomorrow."

"That's the life of a pirate, idiot. But whether I kill you right now or not depends of whatever your shitty attitude and bullshit ego make you say next."

Captain gritted his teeth and snarled, "What do you want, you bitch?"

"I want that one." She said, nodding her head in my direction.

"Benjamin? He's worthless."

"So you have nothing to lose if I have him." She pulled the dagger closer and said, "If you don't give him to me, I'll take him by force."

"You can't take him form me! I own him!"

"Oh?" She said, pulling the dagger up so far it drew blood. "So if I kill you he's free, right? You're just making the offer more and more enticing." She drew herself closer to him, almost lying on his back and purring, "You give me ownership of him, and I'll let you and your shitty crew go free."

"The instant you let me go, we'll be enemies."

"You can think that, but I really don't give a shit about you. But, if you insist on trying to hurt me or my crew, including Benjamin, I will not hesitate to kill you."

The captain clenched his jaw and didn't have anything else to say.

"So?"

"Fine. Take that worthless piece of shit and get your fat ass off of me."

"Pleasure doing business, dicksucker." She said, hitting his neck and making him go limp.

She stood up and glared once more at the crew. Her eyes turned to me and she said, "So, Benjamin? Are you ready?"

"What?"

"I just won. You're mine now."

A slight blush covered my cheeks and I exclaimed, "W-what!? I didn't agree to this!"

Her expression turned dark and she snarled, "I don't give a shit. I'll drag your unconscious ass back to my ship if I have to. You don't have a choice in the matter." Her hand grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me down to her eye level. "I own you now, so you better skip your happy ass right along. Do you understand me?"

And for the first time in my life, I understood what fear and humiliation were.

I was an absolute asshat back then. Captain Jones and I didn't get along because of that, but after beating the shit out of me a couple more times and showing me her leadership, badassery, and even kindness in the time that followed, I gradually opened up. My bad attitude disappeared. I wasn't angry all the time, and I started to see the world in a new light. All of it was because of her.

"I just... love her. I really, truly love her."


	15. Chapter 15

My thumping chest and burning face didn't make sense to me as I clutched myself tightly, trembling before the door. Ian, my sweet Ian was aggressive in his actions and shocked me to the point of nearly overpowering me. Even Benjamin made me feel powerless, confessing to me several days ago.

Everything was falling apart.

"Fuck." I breathed, tossing my hat to the side and running a hand through my hair.

{...}

I contemplated for a long time knocking on the door, but if I listened hard enough I could hear her occasional sob or sigh. She was probably trembling, trying to choke back her tears and going around and around in circles trying to figure out what she should do. She was most likely stressing herself out.

Finally, I knocked on the door and asked, "Anna, are you okay?"

There was no response, but I could tell she was pressing against the door because it was tight against the doorframe.

"I'm kinda worried, y'know, since yer afraid of men and all… I'm not sure, but knowing they want to do more with you must be really scary, right?"

She still didn't respond, but I wasn't willing to just walk away. I was already soaked from the rain, so I didn't have any reason not to keep trying.

"Do you mind if I stay here with ya?" I asked, my voice filled with concern and, hopefully, no trace of malicious intent.

"Just… stay outside…" She replied, her voice uneven and broken.

I slid my back against the door and sat down, resting my head on it and feeling the rain on my skin. I still couldn't hear her, but if my presence made her feel a little bit better, I was content.

"You idiot! Don't let me make you sit outside!" She yelled, throwing open the door. "Hurry up and come inside! Geez, I'm an idiot."

I walked in and closed the door behind me, a towel hitting my face as Anna rummaged around in her drawers.

"Just sit somewhere for now, I'll get you a change of clothes. I think I stole a pair of pants from one of my mates awhile ago."

She looked pitiful. She had dark circles under her eyes and was covered in little cuts and bruises, and beneath her clothes I was certain she had on all kinds of bandages. Her hair was slightly damp and in disarray, her hat thrown across the room and resting in the corner. It wasn't like her.

I rubbed my face and pulled off my bandana, wringing it out over a potted plant sitting on her nightstand. "You mind if I dry my shirt?"

"You've basically seen me naked. You being shirtless is not a big deal." She said, taking off the shirt she had borrowed from me. She had a tank top under, but it only reached just above her bellybutton and didn't cover much of her cleavage.

I turned away from her and pulled off my shirt, wringing it out as well as the towel rested atop his head.

"You never did take back your shirt. I've been wearing it since I first got stuck on your ship."

"I have more. Letting you use one so you wouldn't have to walk around in such a small top isn't particularly a problem."

She laughed and said, "Are you turned away because of this little top?"

"Yeah."

She laughed again and asked, "Are you wondering why I'm not scared of you?"

"A little bit."

"You always talk to me. It's never about touching me or hurting me. It's about listening to me and interacting with me. With you, it really just feels like you understand and care about me. Though it does piss me off when I can't lie to you."

I turned to her and asked, "Is it like that with your crew, too?"

"My crew and I have gone through a lot. Most of them have dealt with my shit for years. They're able to observe what they can and can't do. But you… you've only been around me for three weeks, and a couple of days a little over four years ago. But somehow you just get it."

"You may not want to talk about this, but… did you really not know Benjamin and Ian were in love with you?"

She avoided my eyes and said quietly, "You know, I lie a lot. Usually I'm good at it. I'm guessing it's because you had just met me the same day you didn't notice it, but I do this thing where I convince myself by lying. It always backfires, though, because I fall apart when I tell the truth."

"Have you been lying to me about something important?"

She sat down on her bed and said, "I've been lying to everyone but Ian about something important."

"Is that why he freaked out earlier?"

She nodded solemnly, wringing her hands together. She looked up at me, scanning me up and down before saying, "You know, you look pretty hot right now."

"What?"

"Your hair is wet, you don't have a shirt on, and you're looking at me like you want to kiss me."

I felt myself blush and I looked away.

"Nathan, do you like me?" She asked.

My eyes went wide and I looked at her in disbelief.

She stood up, standing less than two feet away from me and asked, "Do you love me?"

"What are you talking about?"

She laughed and looked at the ground, saying, "The way you look at me is like the way Ian and Benny look at me. You give me special treatment like they give me, too, so I think you at least like me."

"Well, yeah, but you're afraid of men and like girls."

She laughed and fell back onto her bed. "Nobody said I don't like boys too. If I can trust a boy, I might like him." She stretched her arms out and said, "I'm tall for a girl, so when I was with Andy I was able to hold her in my arms. I liked protecting her. She was a fragile little thing, you know? Sure she was feisty and stuff, but she was a little sweetheart. But when I was younger and in naval school, I remember there was one boy who always wanted to date me. When he would hug me I just felt so safe, and I felt protected again with Ian. I don't dislike men, but I have an instantaneous fear of them. I think if I met the right boy I'd be able to trust him, and eventually fall in love with him. It's just easier to like girls, though."

I looked at her and laughed a little, somewhat confused. "So, are you trying to get me to do something to you?"

She looked at me, arms spread out as she laid on her bed. "No, I didn't expect you to. You're probably tempted, but in reality you know I'm stronger than you."

I sat down beside her and laid with my stomach up, like she had. Her arm moved and landed right on my face, making me look at her before we both laughed.

She folded her hands over her stomach and asked, "Aren't you cold? Do you want to put your shirt on?"

"Don't you want to put a shirt on?"

"I have a shirt on."

"I dunno, you're kind of showing a lot. I mean, you're in a locked room with a boy who likes you."

"Didn't I just say I'm stronger than you? If you try something I'll just kick you really hard in the balls."

I cringed a little and said, "Fair enough."

"But seriously though, you look hot right now." She rolled over onto her stomach and ran her fingers through my hair, pushing it out of my face as she rested on her elbow. "With your hair like this, yeah. Actually, you're just pretty hot in general. You're an attractive person."

"I really feel like you're testing me. You're pushing my self-control."

She sighed and rolled back over. "I dunno. I think I want you to scare me a little bit. For some reason you don't scare me very much."

"So I scare you a little bit?"

"Well, when I think it's slightly, maybe, just barely possible for you to force yourself on me and take away the one thing I have left, it's pretty scary."

"You've said it before, 'the one thing I have left.' Is your one thing what I think it is?"

"Before Andy, I never even thought about sex. In reality I would have had sex with her the night she confessed to me, but she wanted to wait until she got married, so I respected her decision. We never got married, but I sort of promised myself to her when we got engaged. I guess I was just never interested in having sex with anyone else. Well, except when I almost slept with Denaye, but it was just heat of the moment attraction for both of us. So yeah, the one thing I have left that hasn't been forcibly taken away from me in the past four years is probably my virginity."

I looked at her and couldn't read her expression. It seemed blank, but I could tell there were all kinds of emotions and thoughts swirling just beneath it.

"I dunno. I'm surprised you haven't done anything yet, though. I mean, from what I gather I'm pretty sexy."

I laughed and she stood up, walking over to her dresser and opening a drawer.

"If you're not gonna be able to control yourself look away." She said.

"Don't worry, I know you're stronger than me."

She took off her tanktop and tossed it into a small basket in the corner, containing other dirty clothes. She stood in her linen bra for several moments, ruffling for a shirt to wear before pulling out another one of my shirts.

"What the hell?"

She laughed with a bit of embarrassment as she started on the buttons. "If I only had one, I wouldn't have another shirt to wear when I did laundry."

I pressed my palm to my forehead and laughed, finding the entire situation ridiculous. I didn't even know what I was doing at this point. "Are you feeling better now?"

Her hands stopped, still three buttons from the top, and it seemed like she froze. Just as I was about to speak up she looked at me and smiled.

"Yeah, actually. Thank you." Her face looked towards the ground and her hands moved behind her, as if she was hesitating about something. "Can you do me a favor, though?"

I sat up and met her eyes. "Sure, what is it?"

"Okay, this might be kind of weird but just… hold still for a second." She said, walking over to me.

All of a sudden she sat in my lap, but before I could say anything she rested her head against my shoulder and put her arms around my torso.

"Just let me stay like this for a little bit." She said quietly, squeezing me gently.

I put my arms around her, pulling her closer to me as I rested my cheek on the top of her head. Her breathing was calm and I could feel her heartbeat, quickened slightly.

"Your heart is beating like crazy." She said.

"Your heartbeat is faster, too."

"…Shut up."

{...}

We were now three days out from war, and the storm was at its peak. Morgan and Nathan were now stranded on my ship since it was too dangerous even for me to move between ships.

I sat in the dining room twirling a dagger between my fingers and thinking, formulating the final battle plan in my head. Everything should be fine, but I had no idea what to expect when I reached Leywei.

There was also the problem of the navy. It was apparent they were going to be guarding the mysterious islands, but they weren't on Leywei's side. At the current moment they weren't against him, so I'd have to infiltrate the main navy ship and gain access to the commander. If I could manipulate him into escorting the navy out, it'd be pretty great.

Or I could just kill him, and take charge of the navy by force…

The dagger sank into the wall across from me, less than an inch away from someone's ear.

"Damn, do you wanna take my title early?" Morgan joked, pulling it out of the door before closing it.

"It'd be helpful, but I don't need it yet."

"Why do you even want the Pirate King title?"

"So Leywei will take me seriously," and when he kills me and I kill him, there won't be any way for anyone to take the title, so I'll be remembered as the last Pirate King in existence. "No other reason."

"Fair enough, but you're not gonna win. I'm stronger than Eduardo."

"So am I, Pirate King. There's no doubt I'll beat you. I can probably get you in one hit, but I'm thinking of using our little dispute as entertainment the night before. The mood will be pretty dampened then."

"But of course. Calm before the storm, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, but this won't be a very nice calm. It'll be restless."

"Makes sense. You keep talking about death, so-"

"People will die. I don't want anyone to think, 'oh, I won't die. I've fought before, so I know what to do,' because I don't want to be the one allowing people to feed lies to themselves. We're going to be severely outnumbered, at least one to five, maybe even one to ten. It sucks because I don't know, and people are going to die because I didn't know."

Morgan sighed, resting his head on his palm. "That's the life of a pirate captain."

"Don't I know it."

"Captain, are you coming in for dinner?" Tyler asked, poking his head in my study.

"Yeah, I was just going to finish this up so I didn't forget anything." I replied, finishing my sentence and setting the quill back in its holder.

I walked with Tyler to the dining hall, making small talk and asking him if he was nervous about the battle. When we reached the dining room everyone else was already there. Ian was just bringing the food in, and everyone else was seated.

"Well, this isn't quite a party, but since we have guests I guess we can get some liquor out. Benny, Mike, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yes, ma'am!" They said excitedly, standing up and heading to the cargo hold.

"Ian, is it too late to make a cake, or maybe cut up some strawberries?"

He smiled a bit, and after a slight nod, he walked back into the kitchen.

I sat down in my seat and put my feet up, letting out a deep sigh before stretching out my arms and popping my back. "So, the storm should be over by tomorrow. But, we're most likely going to run into the navy."

"What's the plan?" Morgan asked.

"I just need to get to the commander. Once I've got him, we've just got to improvise."

"That doesn't seem like a plan you'd come up with."

"Well, what did you expect? I didn't anticipate the navy. I've been thinking, once I either hold the commander hostage or convince him to join us, his little underlings won't have a choice but bend to my will."

"Spoken like a true pirate!" Morgan exclaimed, laughing.

The party majorly consisted of bonding and drinking, but honestly, all I remember is babysitting and taking drunken men to their rooms. I threw Nathan and Morgan into my room since it was the biggest, and once everyone was passed out I made myself comfortable in my study. There was always an extra pillow and blanket just in case.

The next morning I woke up early, a few hours before sunrise and just after the storm finally ended. There wasn't much to do beside planning for the upcoming battle, but a year and a half of planning made it so there wasn't much more to plan for. So instead I went outside and started cleaning the deck, sweeping water and picking up debris, reorganizing the cargo boxes and making everything the same way it was before.

"What the hell? Why are all the herbs up here?" I asked myself, closing the box again and heading down to the cargo hold. It turns out a lot of things had gotten mixed up, so I spent the pre-morning hours reorganizing everything and putting it in the order it should have been in the first place. By the end of my work, I was pissed.

With the last box in place and final knot tied, the sun was just about to come up. I decided to just go back to my study, since I didn't particularly feel like eating at the moment, or being surrounded by people. My best bet was to try and find old blueprints of ships from my naval school days.

I was woken by a slight knock on the door, and it took me several seconds to remember where I was. There were books spread out over my desk and a couple of hand-drawn blueprints to the side of me, and the information I researched slowly came back to me as I stretched.

"Miss Anna, are you in there?"

"Thomas? Yeah, come on in." I said, gathering my papers and using them as a bookmark in an old textbook of mine.

The door opened and he walked in sheepishly, awkwardly standing until I directed him to a seat.

"Did you want to talk to me or something?" I asked, resting my elbow on my desk and crossing my legs.

"Oh! Yeah, I, um… I had something g I wanted to ask you about…"

I smiled a bit at his flustered face. "Alright, shoot."

"I, um… I wanted to ask about, um, relationship advice…"

My brow scrunched up and I almost laughed. "You want to ask me about relationship advice? You know how my only relationship has gone, Thomas."

"I know, but… The way you talk about Andy, I can tell you two really loved each other. There's just this look in your eye you get, and it's easy to tell when you're thinking about her. I want to feel the way you did, and have what you had."

I smiled. "Okay, what did you need advice on?"

"Well… The person I like is a boy. I thought you would be okay with it since you like the same sex too."

"Yeah, it's perfectly okay and normal. Go on."

"I've liked him for a little while now, and I was thinking of telling him. The thing is, though, I don't know if he likes boys too."

"Well, if he doesn't like boys, do you still want to tell him?"

"Of course I want to tell him! I just don't want him to stop talking to me because of it."

"It was hard for me to tell Andy, but I had lost her before. No matter what, I wasn't going to lose her again."

"I remember you saying you just told her you love her, but… I don't know what to do."

I gazed at him a moment, and with complete seriousness, I said, "Kiss him."

"What!?" Thomas exclaimed, he's cheeks flashing red.

"Kiss him." I repeated. "You guys have to reorganize the cargo on your ship, right? Have him help you take a box down to the hold, then when you look up at him grab his sleeve and ask, 'Can I kiss you?' Don't be a dick and just do it, consent is important."

"T-then what!?"

"Even if he says no, and even if he doesn't like you already, he'll definitely start thinking about you more. Then he'll start asking himself, 'oh my god, do I like him?' or 'Why am I thinking about him so much?' You know, stupid stuff."

"Okay… Is there anything else I should do."

"Touch him."

"Miss Anna!"

"Not in a sexual sense. Just little touches on the shoulder when you're passing by, playful punches, leaning on his shoulders when you walk in on a conversation… Maybe a little pat on the butt-"

"Miss Anna!" Thomas screeched, his face flashing even redder

"Okay okay, alright. You don't have to touch his butt, but it's a suggestion."

Thomas was quiet, but eventually looked up at me and asked one more thing. "I know you really loved Andy, but… How did you know she loved you?"

I laughed a bit. "Andy wasn't one for intense make out sessions and other hardcore romantic or sexual things. She'd rather hold my hand or lean against me. After we got together, there almost wasn't a time when we weren't touching each other. I could always feel it when she'd reach for my hand and squeeze, or when she'd come in my study and hold me from behind. I made sure she knew I loved her by little kisses on the forehead of her hands, and sometimes her neck. I loved touching her hair, too. Sometimes, if we spent the night together, we'd wake the other one up by showering their face in little kisses."

"That sounds nice..." Thomas said, his eyes showing me he was daydreaming.

"I could probably count the number of times we kissed on both of my hands, but I'll never forget when I proposed to her. She got this adorable look on her face, and she took my face in her hands and full on kissed me. She had tears in her eyes and kept bouncing up and down, looking at her hand and hugging me. She was so happy."

"Did you ever imagine what it would be like getting married?"

"Of course. I imagined her dress, her hair, what my crew would look like and how they would act… She wanted to get married underneath the treehouse where I confessed to her, and she wanted to invite everyone's family. I remember her telling me, 'I don't know if you'd look better in a dress or a suit, but I think no matter what you wore I'd still want to marry you.' There were times when I really just wanted to marry her right then, touch her in places she hadn't let me touch before, but I knew she wanted to wait. We were engaged for about a year, and the sad thing about it is I was going to seriously ask her to marry me the night Blackbeard attacked. I wanted to start seriously planning the wedding, and I wanted to make her mine. But, Leywei ruined it."

"I'm… so sorry…"

"It's the past now. I hate it, but it's the past. There's nothing I can do to change it now." I stretched a bit and added, "And one more thing, ask him if he can teach you how to sword fight. You'll get to spend more time with him, and you can say 'wow Russell, you really are a great swordsman!' He's the type who likes compliments and feeling manly."

"Yeah… He would like that. W-wait, you knew the whole time?"

I laughed, patting him on the head as I stood up. "I've shipped it for a long time, boy. It was bound to happen."

"Shipped? What do you mean by-"

"Don't worry about it! Come on, Ian probably finished making breakfast about now! I'll invite the whole Sirius crew!"

The morning was lively, and it filled my heart seeing Thomas interact with both his brother and his love interest. I realized myself that morning, despite the fact Ian and Benjamin were in love with me, it didn't man I couldn't trust them. In fact, it meant I could trust them not to betray me.

Morgan and I grew a bit closer, talking about captain things and the ultimate ways of the world. Eduardo was still a little shit, but in his own way he was a little bit nicer to me. Christopher was a sweetheart, and was always nice to me no matter what. Every time I looked at Russell he was looking at Thomas, so I somewhat tipped the scale by teasing him and pointing it out. His blush made everything painfully clear, and it warmed my heart knowing my ship had sailed.

"Captain, are you not hungry?" Ian asked, looking at my plate:

Shit. "Oh, yeah, no. I'm sorry Ian, I'm just not very hungry this morning."

"Are you okay?"

His expression broke my heart. He thinks it's his fault.

"Of course. I'm just worried about today and tomorrow, okay? You have nothing to worry about." I replied, putting my hands gently on his shoulders.

"Cap'n, you really don't look so good. You have really dark circles under your eyes." Benjamin said.

"Benny, the bags under my eyes aren't from a lack of sleep. They're a universal constant."

"No, really. You look pale. You should eat something." Mike said, looking at me.

"Really, I'm fine! Nothing is wrong!"

"Anna, you're not a good liar." Nathan said.

I stood up from my chair, pulling my hat to cover my eyes as I retreated to the door. "I'm fine, I promise. I'll be in my study of you need me."

"Are you nervous because you don't know where the commander's room is?" Thomas asked.

My hand froze just above the door handle.

"I saw your scrapped blueprints. There were marks all over them." He continued.

I sighed. "If I can't figure out where the commander's room is, we'll waste time. Every minute we spend against the navy is effort we can use in the war day after tomorrow. We need to get to the Mysterious Islands by tomorrow night."

"Anna, you have four notorious captains at your fingertips, and you didn't bother to ask them?" Morgan asked.

I sighed again and turned around. "You should know this by now, Morgan. I'm a prideful woman who doesn't like asking for help. It took a lot to ask these captains to fight for me. I don't want to seem unprepared by revealing I don't know something as trivial as where the damn commander's room is when I graduated naval school at the top of my class."

Morgan laughed. "Believe me, I know. I just don't get it."

He went with me to my study and nitpicked the blueprint I had drawn, telling me where the commander's room was and guesstimating the fastest route to get there. I'd only need to take two crews with me, one to defend on the deck and another to go down under. With a solid plan I felt a lot better, and finally went back to the dining room ready to devour my breakfast.

The navy was my current concern. Either we were meeting them or the rest of the pirates first, or it was possible they were already fighting each other, but because if the storm I believed the pirates had been pushed back a few hours. If, by chance, we met the pirates first I would have to quickly fill them in on the plan to capture the commander, and explain myself as well as discuss the actual battle plan in the evening.

Pre-planning didn't last long, though. A little before noon, Jacob spotted the navy fleet.

"Men, prepare for battle! Those bastards have spotted us too!" I yelled as I pulled my hair up. Quickly I wrapped my chest and stole Morgan's overcoat, saluting him with two fingers and winking before climbing up to the crow's nest.

"Pull up next to the little ships and hold them off! The big one's mine!" I exclaimed, pulling out my sword.

The battle began as Stewart, Lee, Theon, and Alan protected both Bonnibelle and the Sirius. It was easy to pull next to the main ship, but we were already under fire.

"Follow me, men, here we go!" I yelled, laughing and swinging over from Bonnibelle.

We pummeled through navy men as the commander barked orders over the sound system. It made me smile because it was guaranteed he was in the commander's room.

"Let's go!" I called to the Sirius men, holding open the door to the interior of the ship. As they piled through my crew stood before the door, Benjamin giving us the all clear to go ahead.

Morgan led us through, annihilating every soldier who dared came at him. The few strays were left to everyone else, but as we proceeded deeper men stayed behind to hold off the mob of soldiers.

The commander's door stood just before me, and Morgan yelled he would hold off the rest here. My foot smashed the lock and made the door fly open, causing all those inside to flinch. Four soldiers moved to attack me as the commander screamed into his sound system, but before he even finished his order his men lay on the floor and I advanced towards him.

My hand grabbed the back of his head, clutching his hair between my fingers and forcing him to look up at me as I hissed, "Nice to meet ya mate, my name is Captain Jones."

"Unhand me, you filth!" The commander exclaimed, pulling out his sword and lunging at me.

I jumped back and said, "Whoa mate, calm down! I came to negotiate!"

"I'd never negotiate with the likes of you!"

"That hurt my heart mate!" I called jokingly, dodging an attack from him and jumping over his desk.

"I'll have you arrested before you speak another word!"

"Oh no you won't! The man you're trying to arrest doesn't exist!"

"What nonsense are you spewing, pirate!? You're standing right in front of me!"

He lunged at me with his sword and I grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and pinning him to the ground. My knees rested by his sides and I leaned in close to his ear, applying even more pressure to him arm.

"You're wrong, Commander. You're wrong about a lot of things." I said in my normal voice.

"W-what the hell!? You're a man!"

"Wrong again. My name is Annabelle Jones, captain of the Bonnibelle, sworn enemy of Captain Leywei, and soon to be Pirate King. Now, you're either going to work with me willingly, or I can hold a knife to your throat and lock you up until Leywei is dead."

"Wait, did you say, Annabelle Jones, as in the Annabelle Jones?"

"Oh, you've heard of me?" I asked sweetly, batting my eyelashes at him.

"Of course I have… Don't you remember me? All throughout naval school we were friends. You even gave me my nickname, Leo."

"Leo… Wait, you're Leonardo Abbott!?"

"What the hell? Annabelle, how did you become a pirate captain?"

"It's a long story, but first, call off your men."

The captains all met in the Bonnibelle dining room, and I gave Leo a brief version of my life story and how Leywei tied in to it, as well as my spiel about how trying to ruin my life and how his ridiculous aspiration led me to kill him before he killed me first.

"I knew what he was saying sounded unrealistic. When I heard other pirates talking about 'Captain Jones' it always seemed completely different."

"Leywei is a nutjob and determined to kill me, so I'm going to kill him first. Now where you fit in, Leo, I either need you to back off or help me fight."

"Jones, are you serious!? Having the navy fight for a pirate is-!"

"Shut up, Stewart. My offer is for Leo."

"You want to have me, the naval commander, order an entire fleet of elite naval ships to help you, the most wanted and highly valued pirate captain, in a war started for your own personal reasons?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want."

Leo smiled. "You're just as crazy as I remember. I can bend the truth accordingly, so I'll help you."

The room sat in a shocked silence.

"Are you serious, Commander?" Morgan asked, nearly stuttering.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You understand how badly this can turn out, right?" Lee asked.

"I understand that I may be put to death for treason in the worst case scenario."

I nearly jumped across the table and toppled Leo's chair, the weight of my body and momentum almost knocking the wind out of him as I threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you, Leo. Thank you so, so much."

He hugged me back and replied, "No problem, Annabelle."

Leo and I talked for hours upon hours, catching up on the past eight years and somewhat bragging about what we had made out of ourselves. We retold stories of our days together back in naval school, from how our teachers and classmates turned out to the adventures we had during and after school.

"It's funny, don't you think? I was always the top of the class but turned out to be a pirate, and you, the second student, became the commander of the entire Moldarian navy."

"I can't believe you were paying for two people's tuitions! But the girl never showed up?"

"No, she was involved in some turf war between gangs and went into hiding. She broke up with her boyfriend and cut all of her ties, but when she finally returned home he found her and tried to rape her. Luckily I was in town and was able to save her."

"What? Is this the same girl you were going to get married to?"

"Yeah. The reason I disappeared and never finished school was because I thought she was dead. I had been friendly with you at that point, but my depression was so bad I felt like I had no friends. I skipped out and got on the first ship leaving port, which ended up being Stewart's ship."

"Geez Annabelle, it sounds like you dedicated your life to this girl."

"I did. When I was a kid she was my best friend, but when she disappeared I became obsessed, thinking it was my fault. She really was my only friend back then, so when I lost her, I didn't know what to do. I thought making our dream come true would make everything better, but that didn't happen. We became pirates years later, and got engaged two years after that. But, she was killed a year later."

"So… you never got to marry her?"

I shook my head solemnly. "Leywei took away all the happiness I worked for, so after he's been trying and trying to kill me, I'm just going to kill him."

Leo took my hand in his, looking into my eyes and saying, "I'm really glad I decided to help you. I promise you, Leywei will die tomorrow."

I laughed. "I don't need anyone to tell me. I've already decided for myself; he'll never again see the light of day."

Just then the sound of gunfire went off and wild screams sounded in the air. Instantly I was on the deck, my sword in hand and guard up, but all I could do is smile, scream along, and raise my sword in the air as soon as I saw a fleet of pirates heading my way.

Captain Cecil, representative of the northern seas and former aristocrat. A bit snarky and greedy, but a valuable asset in war if we was on your side.

Captain Van, representative of the eastern seas with a very vague past. Has many connections and a great smile, useful for his name's weight and to lighten the mood.

Captain Virk, prince of the northern Viking tribe and completely in awe of women. Incredibly strong and easy for me to manipulate.

Captain Regan, Stewart's brother and an old acquaintance. Not very talkative but ingenious when he does speak. His words and military wisdom are invaluable at the moment.

After a quick collaboration between all the ship members and a quick introduction of all the captains and a pep talk about the upcoming war my ship took off, sailing straight towards the Mysterious Islands. A large battalion of ships gathered in my wake, the air surrounding tense and bloodthirsty. Captain Morgan, Captain Alan, Captain Stewart, Captain Cecil, Captain Van, Captain Lee, Naval Commander Leonardo, and a handful of others were tipping their hats and swearing their allegiance to me. We were coming for Leywei, and he was waiting for us.

Let the battle begin.


	16. Chapter 16

We approached the battleground and set up camp about fifty miles away. Small fires were scattered on the beach and tents popped up in circles, each crew having their own small section. The navy sat in several circles, a bit secluded from the pirates. Dark was approaching.

Restlessness filled the air, and even after a long meet and greet no one seemed hungry or sleepy. It was excruciating.

The repetitive, dull scraping of cutlery on plates, little coughs and sniffles here and there, complete lack of conversation. It was painstakingly clear everyone was nervous- no, completely scared out of their minds. It was time for me to make things a little more interesting.

"Say Pirate King, I don't know about you, but I think things could use a little spicing up." I called from my circle.

"Oh, ya think so? I think things are pretty lively already." He replied, glancing over his shoulder.

No one really reacted and stared like flies at the fires in the middle of their circles.

"Are you kidding? Things are about as lively as your love life." I retorted, hoping to get a laugh or two but receiving silence.

"Well then, what are you gonna do about it?" Morgan asked, brushing off my joke.

I stood up from my spot in the sand, placing my hands on my hips and saying, "I think we ought to have ourselves a competition."

"Captain, what are you doing?" Benny asked, urging me to sit down.

"A competition, eh? What's yer recommendation?" Morgan asked, standing up as well. His crew sent alarmed looks at one another and looked at me with either concern or fear.

"Well, it has been two and a half weeks. Why don't we discuss the title of Pirate King?"

A hum of murmurs went through the groups, and people's heads started turning to see what was happening.

"Do you think you can beat me, little missy?"

"Captain, you're talking crazy! Sit down!" Jacob begged.

"Oh, I know I can beat you, old man. Tyler," I snapped, "do you still have your wooden sword?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

The hilt landed in the palm of my hand and I clasped it firmly. "All right you son of a bitch, let's dance."

"Annabelle, are you crazy!?" I heard Leo say as he stood up.

I laughed, tipping my hat. "Yeah."

Morgan scanned me, sizing me up and determining the strength I held. After several seconds he seemed to place his bets and lunged.

Our swords clashed and all eyes were on us, the majority of comments being about how I was insane; how I was no match for the Pirate King. They all said a woman was no match for him; the fight would be over soon. She's smart, but she's too skinny to hold any strength.

Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint my fans.

For the first several minutes of the fight, I acted as if I was struggling. Morgan appeared overpowering, pushing me back at a rapid pace. It got to a point where the comments were, 'is she capable of leading us? There's no way we'll survive!'

That was Morgan's bait.

"Come on Anna, I know you're holding back on me! Where's the strength you used on Eduardo?"

"Oh don't worry, Morgan, our little show has only just begun!"

My feet became firmly planted on the sand, and within an instant, I turned the tables completely around. Morgan was nearly tripping over his own feet, pushed back further with every step.

"What's this, Pirate King? Where's your finesse? Don't tell me you're holding back as well! Do you not take me seriously?"

"Why should I? I am Pirate King Morgan! No little girl can defeat me!"

"Well then, Morgan, watch as I make you take me seriously!"

Our playful banter entertained our fellow pirates, but as the fight dragged on and on, the playfulness ceased. Seriousness flooded the atmosphere as the actual fight dawned. Morgan's hits were more solid, more precise. His smile vanished, replaced by a frustrated scowl.

The clack of wooden swords got faster and faster, Morgan's scowl growing ever deeper. It was apparent he was confused. He knew I was strong, but he didn't know my limits. The moon climbed in the sky, and finally he took me seriously.

Our bodies danced in an offensive spar, attracting and repelling as the blades grew worn. Tired eyes dared not blink, too afraid to miss a second of an unimaginable reality. Stamina failed. Determination failed. Time dragged on and on. The stars and moon stood mocking, shining light over the beachfront war. Hours and hours, sleep deprivation brought about by stubbornness.

"Morgan, I must say! You have quite a bit of endurance!" I said, backing away enough to lower my sword.

Morgan's breath was ragged, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. His endurance was about to fail him, and trembling legs threatened to collapse from exhaustion at any minute.

"We can go on, Morgan, or I can end it now."

"I'll defend my title until I die!" Morgan exclaimed, launching himself at me.

With one deflection I sent him stumbling back, shocking everyone.

"Listen to me, Morgan. You can't beat me."

He thrust at me again, and one flick of my wrist sent him staggering.

"You've underestimated me enough already."

Again he came at me, thrown away by nothing more than a wave of my hand.

"It's time to give up."

The blade of his wooden sword reached for me, and my left arm moved smoothly. The two blades collided, and a snap echoed over the entire beach.

A small plop behind me showed half of Morgan's blade, snapped by sheer force. His tired eyes were frozen with disbelief, and my face showed deadly annoyance. My intact blade touched his chest, just above his heart.

"Now, old man, I think it's about time you got some sleep."

His knees gave out and he collapsed on the sand, driven to the point of exhaustion by his own stubbornness and pride. Christopher ran to his side and immediately began to hydrate him.

"Till you die, huh old man? I can appreciate your resolve." I said, tossing Tyler his sword. I turned to the shocked men facing me, their eyes wide and almost scared. "Listen here! I, Pirate King Jones, am leading everyone here tonight in this war to destroy Leywei. No one, and I mean no one in the entire world is more capable of taking him down. With my smarts and brute force, Leywei stands no chance against us. But, there's something I haven't told any of you."

"Anna."

My eyes met Nathan's.

"What did you do?"

Dantalion flew down from the sky and landed on my outstretched arm. I pulled a letter from the inside of my hat and tied it to her leg. "Take this to Leywei."

She flew off before anyone could think to stop her.

"Captain, why are you sending a letter to him!?" Tyler asked frantically, fear etched in his expression.

"An agreement to meet Leywei alone."

Silence rested on the sands of the beach, as no one could find their voice.

I looked into the eyes of the men I had just betrayed, my new title demanding I do so. "I will need you all to get to him. But once we reach the interior of the island I'll need you to keep everyone else out."

"There's no way you aren't walking into a trap! He's going to have all kinds of soldiers in the room with him!" Leo exclaimed.

I laughed. "I know."

"Anna, are you going to die tomorrow?" Nathan asked seriously.

My eyes wavered, flicking to the sand for a brief moment before meeting his once more. "Yeah. But Leywei's going down with me."

"I refuse to accept that!" Captain Stewart exclaimed, grabbing me by the collar. "I told you I wouldn't support a suicide mission!"

"It's not a suicide mission." I said sternly, glaring into his enraged eyes. "I'm not going in this just so I can die."

"What the fuck!? Jones, you promised me you'd turn out okay!" Captain Theon exclaimed, furious.

"I lied. Lying is what pirates do."

"What were you thinking!?" Morgan snarled. "How could we possibly help you with something like this!?"

I pulled myself away from Stewart and spoke steadily. "If you don't want to help me anymore, it's fine. I just wanted to at least make it to Leywei. Maybe I was thinking if I made it there, if I killed Leywei..." My eyes drifted up to the stars, and my voice took a bit of a softer tone. "Maybe Andy would forgive me..."

"Cap'n..." Benny breathed.

"God damn it," I breathed, clenching my fists tightly. "I was thinking if I kept it from you guys and killed Leywei... Maybe, just maybe I could let go of her. Maybe I might realize she's dead, I'm never going to see her again, and I don't have the right to be so sad anymore... I thought killing the bastard who hurt her would bring me peace."

The beach was quiet.

"It's cliché, I know, the whole revenge deal, but... I just can't go on like this anymore. I have to do something." My hands balled even tighter and a scowl overtook my irritated face. "I want to kill him. I will kill him. Once I do that... No one will be able to beat me." As I looked up and met the eyes of my fellow pirates, my expression hardened into a murderous glare. "If I kill Leywei, I will make it out of there."

Not even Nathan could tell I lied.

But then again, neither could I.

The next morning was quiet. Everyone packed up their ships and prepared for the upcoming battle calmly. There wasn't a trace of nervousness or anxiety, but within the next two hours, no one would be safe from it.

Death stared me in the face, but because of my lies last night I was glaring right back at it. What was strange, though, was I couldn't feel any tightness in my chest, even though I could feel the nerves creeping up my aching back.

The trip to the island was a blur. I didn't remember getting on or off my ship, but I was now facing the place where my victory would take place. Here, I was going to kill him.

I remember the sounds. Metal clashing, screaming, an intense atmosphere, but… I didn't feel anything. I couldn't feel my sword slicing through people. I didn't feel the damp air or the rubbing of fabric. Even my feet on the ground, I couldn't feel it.

Everything was just... numb.

Even when I met Leywei.

The sounds of battle could be heard in the background, but they were far away. Somehow I had reached the end of a long hallway, the battle going on at the entrance of the cave, just beyond a stairway behind the double doors. A large, stone ballroom opened up to me with a staircase on both walls, both meeting up to a balcony-like overlook. By force of habit, I took the left staircase, hugging the wall in order to spot and avoid traps.

There were none.

When I reached the outlook I surveyed the ballroom, admiring the patterns on the stone floor before turning to another double door behind me. It was also made of stone, intricate and perfectly symmetrical designs filling me with aesthetic euphoria.

Cautiously I opened up the large, extravagant doors, and saw him.

Leywei.

I gripped the hilt of my sword, and he smiled.

Feet, fists, elbows, shins, hilts, objects, anything to gain the upper hand. Anything to hurt one another. Blades always grazed and clashed, but never skewering or slicing. Bullets fired, but amounting to no more than threats or grazing. Words with the potency of poison, but lost between the never ending struggles. We wanted to murder each other.

For the sixth or seventh time I felt a hit to my stomach, but it didn't hurt. Still, in the time I imagined I would feel the most alive, I felt numb. His blade chased after his foot, which I deflected with some difficulty. It was hard fighting him, which I imagined, of course, but every time I tried harder, he did as well.

I was dying. He was dying. We became more desperate. Riskier. More insane. Less human.

Finally, with one more kick to my stomach, I flew back through the double doors and tumbled to the ballroom outlook.

The sounds of battle reflected and resounded off the ballroom walls, echoing throughout its vicinity. The sound of the double doors slamming against the walls behind them made everything stop, blades and guns immediately ceasing their attacks as their owner's eyes looked up to where the sound came from.

Leywei advanced slowly, his eyes murderous and his face cocky. They became filled with disbelief and looked down as his chest, his smirk disappearing and his mouth hanging loosely open when he saw my dagger sticking out of his chest.

A smile covered my face and I felt my body relax. I had thrown that damn dagger with all the force I had left, so I'd damn sure went through his twisted heart. He was going to die, so now, there's no reason for me to live anymore.

He was foolish to think he'd won.

It all happened in an instant. Leywei's sword speeding towards me, my acceptance of death, the flash of white hair, the sickening sound of metal tearing through flesh, and the thump of a cold corpse falling to the ground.

Everything stopped. No one moved or dared make a sound. Not even ten seconds had passed since I had flown through the doors, and everyone tried to figure out what was happening. It was like time had frozen in its tracks as I looked at the body on the ground.

It was Ian.

My body forced itself to move and found the hilt of my dagger, still in his chest, ripping violently and tearing the blade through his flesh, twisting and slicing through Leywei before me. Before he could fall to the ground my other hand grabbed his collar, tossing him against the wall with ease. He hit the ground with a dull thud and didn't get back up.

Tears clouded my eyes at some point, and after turning to Ian I asked, "Ian, what are you doing?"

He didn't say anything.

"How's not the time to be acting shy. Come on, get up. We have to go back."

Ominous silence resounded throughout the cave.

I bent down and shuffled him a bit, but he didn't do anything.

"Mike, something's wrong with Ian." I said, turning to him. "You can fix it, right?"

For the first time in a long time, I watched tears fall down Mike's face.

"Christopher, you can fix it, can't you? You can fix anything, right?"

He turned his face away from me.

Frantically I turned back to Ian and rolled him over. Horror struck me as I saw the deep wound in his chest, stretching from his shoulder to his stomach.

"Don't worry, Ian, I'll fix it. And when you get better, I'll cut up some strawberries, okay?"

He still didn't say anything.

"Ian?" I said softly, my voice finally breaking. "Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

"Cap'n, he's-" Benny spoke up.

"Shut up!" I screamed. I clutched the fabric of Ian's torn shirt and shook him slightly. "Why did you do that!? I told you I was going to die before, so why did you come here!?"

Still, he didn't move.

"Why!? Why did you sacrifice yourself for me!? Ian!"

"Anna!" Morgan said sternly.

I turned to him and he spoke again.

"He's gone. Leave it alone now."

Slowly I looked back at Ian and gazed at his features. His eyes were dead, and his chest did not rise or fall. His face was not calm but blank. He didn't look like he was sleeping... He just looked dead.

He was dead.

He was really, truly… dead.

With my hands still clutching his shirt, I rested my head on his chest, neither feeling nor hearing a heartbeat. My sobbing face pressed closely to him. There was nothing left, not even warmth.

"Ian, didn't you want to tell me something? Weren't you crying, begging for me to live so you could tell me? So why did you... did you... die?"

"Anna?"

I took Ian in my arms and stood up, turning to everyone with my shoulders pulled back, chin up, and back straight. "Today I have won the war against Leywei. I have proven myself as Pirate King, so from this moment on I will use my power without hesitation." I clutched Ian's body tighter. "If you were working for Leywei, get out. You have two minutes before I kill every last one of you."

A flock of people swarmed the entrance, and ships started sailing off like bats out of hell.

"If you belong to be navy, stand down and line up on the left side of the room. Listen to your commander and exit the Mysterious Islands in a timely manner."

They began to move, and I addressed the remaining pirates.

"Pirates, return to your captains. You all fought a great battle and deserve some rest. My men, grab the shovels."

"We'll help." Morgan said, his crew standing beside him.

"So will we." Stewart added, his crew standing by as well.

"No. You need to take care of your crew. Get back to your ships."

"I'm not leaving you like this." Stewart insisted.

I met the eyes of every pirate standing before me, then gazed at Ian in my arms.

"Alright... Start digging."

I'll never forget what Ian looked like. A bed of flower petals, a crown made from daisies atop his head, his arms folded over his still chest. His grave was covered and a headstone was placed, the blessing I placed almost as thorough as the one I placed over Andy's grave.

I'll never forget, but now... I've already killed the one I can never forgive.

What do I do now…?

The next morning I woke up face down, which was unusual. I contemplated sitting up and checking who else was awake, but the sudden memory of the day before felt like a one thousand ton weight on my back.

The air was gloomy, and the sky above boasted storm clouds. The bitter cold nipped at our bare skin, but everyone was too tired to defy it. There was nothing we could do but move, now.

I just laid there, and before I knew it, I had balled myself up and began to cry.

"Miss Anna, are you okay!?" I heard Thomas exclaim, running up to me and kneeling in the sand.

"I'm not, Thomas. I'm really, really not." I replied, pushing myself up and resting on my elbow.

"Are you scared?"

I wiped my eyes, but tears kept coming. "I'm so scared. I don't know what to do."

"What are you talking about, Anna?" Nathan asked, appearing beside Thomas.

Slight irritation and a slight sense of disbelief echoed through my tone. "What do you mean, what am I talking about? You were there, weren't you?"

"Miss Anna, what are you talking about?"

"What, you don't know? Are you joking?"

"Oh, Cap'n! You're finally awake!" Jacob said, walking up from behind with a smile on his face.

"Tch," I spat, "Why are you smiling so happily? Aren't you upset?"

"Upset about what?"

I stood up angrily, my fury more powerful than the depressing weight and gloomy air trying to hold me down. My fists were clenched tightly, my fingernails scratching against old scars.

"About Ian, you fuckwit." I snarled darkly.

Jacob looked hurt, but he managed to say, "Did something happen to Ian?"

My hand moved faster than I anticipated, and Jacob almost fell onto the sand.

"Don't fuck around with me, Jacob! You know damn well what happened!" I pushed past him and snarled, "Don't even bother to look at me. I'm in the mood to fucking murder someone."

I tugged on the opening of my overcoat and stomped away from the three, my hair flowing in tangled bunches as I walked against the wind. Tears still stung in my eyes, and no one dared speak out to me as they loaded up their ships.

Well, almost no one.

"Cap'n? What's wrong?" Benny asked, grabbing my shoulder as he passed.

"Don't touch me, Benjamin." I snapped, slapping his hand away almost as hard as I had slapped Jacob.

His hand retracted, and several heads turned my way.

"Quit staring and pack up, you dickwads! We don't have all fucking day!" I yelled, turning from Benjamin and glaring. "That goes for you too, Benjamin. You better tell everyone to watch themselves, or I might hit someone else."

I walked to the perimeter of our campsite to check if anyone was fucking around by the firewood when someone bumped my shoulder.

"Oi," I spat, glaring at them, "watch where the fuck you're going."

My eyes met theirs, and I screamed so loudly I almost hurt my own ears. My back hit a tree and my legs lost all power, unable to support my trembling body. Fear made my heart pound in my ears, the only possible conclusion I could draw being that I was going back to insanity, hallucinating about people who weren't there. Everything had finally fallen apart.

"Captain?" he said, his head tilted slightly.

"N…no… don't talk to me… go away!"

His expression turned to one of hurt, which made me feel guilty even now. Even though Ian was dead, hallucinations of him could manipulate my emotions.

"Captain!" Benjamin exclaimed, Tyler and Mike right behind him.

"We heard you scream. Are you alright?" Tyler asked.

"What happened?" Morgan exclaimed, several other pirates in tow.

My eyes were locked on Ian, and his slightly upset figure haunting me. Did no one else see him? "I don't want this anymore…" I said, my hands moving up to cover my neck.

"Captain, are you alright?" Ian asked, coming towards me.

Other pirates came towards me from the beach, leaving their work to check if I was okay.

"I don't want to miss you as much as I missed Andy." I continued, pulling my knees to my chest and covering my face with my hands.

Ian kneeled down on the sand right before me, not saying a word.

"Ian, I know I told you I was going to die before I told anyone else, so you've probably been thinking you might sacrifice yourself to save me for a long time, but… why would you? I understand that you love me, and you would do anything for me, but do you understand that I can't live without you? I've lost Andy. I've lost my crew, and fifteen others. They trusted me, Ian, and I know you trust me too. So, why can't you understand that I didn't want to betray you?"

"You've never betrayed me, Captain…"

I shook my head. "I knew people were going to die in this fight, but each one of those men who died wanted to walk out of there. They died in my fight. They trusted their lives to me, and because I failed to finish the battle quickly, they lost their lives. You sacrificed yourself for me, and in turn, you never got to tell me what you wanted to say. It's my fault."

A pair of arms wrapped around me, and I heard Ian's voice say, "I'm right here. Nothing is your fault."

My heart stopped for a moment, and I slowly placed my hands on the person's shoulders. They backed away, and my hands traced their face.

They were real.

Ian was real.

Ian was alive.

I stood up and grabbed Ian by his ear, pulling him so he had to stand up, but because he was taller than me he bent down as to not hurt his ear.

"Listen to me. You will not take any action if Leywei tries to kill me. You will not jump in front of his blade or bullet, and you will not push me out of the way."

"But Captain-"

I pulled his ear harder and let go, making him walk towards the rest of the gathered pirates.

"This is an order. No one will take any action to stop Leywei, or sacrifice themselves in any way. Am I understood?"

"Annabelle, are you serious?" Leo asked, several of his navy men behind him.

"Yes. I've told you all I will die, and if I do, I do. I have much more confidence than before, but I refuse to let any of yourselves try to be righteous when worst comes to worst."

"Miss Anna..."

"I've explained to you all that this war has been done for selfish reasons. This entire process will be in vain if one of you dies to protect me."

"Captain, how can you expect us, your crew, and everyone else who came to fight for you to accept your death and support you?"

My eyes met his and I glared at him, but when I saw his shoulders stiff and his eyes glaring back at me, I knew he had dedicated himself to his resolve.

I scanned everyone else as well, their eyes determined.

I sighed. "Fine. I'm going in alone."

...

"What!?"

"If no one will support me, that's fine. I'm used to it." I turned my back on everyone and jammed my fists in my pockets. "Who do you think I am? After planning this war for years, did you expect me to not have a backup plan and give up when you refused to help?"

"Anna, you're being unreasonable." Morgan said, trying to reason with me.

"I'm not. I'm being selfish."

"Jones, listen-"

"No, you listen. This is an order, as the Pirate King. Everyone on this island right now, pack up and get out of here by ten. I'll kill Leywei myself."

"Annabelle, you can't be serious! That's suicide! There's no way you'll survive!"

"Damn it, Jones, just listen!" Stewart exclaimed, grabbing me by the arm and forcing me to look at him.

I broke free from his grip and threw my leg into his jaw, the sheer force sending him to the ground. I glared the fiercest look I could muster and snarled, "Don't you dare touch me like that, scum. I'm not your deckhand anymore. I'm the one in charge here, so you answer to me."

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Somehow, my glare got even fiercer as I turned to a furious Leo. "You got a problem, Commander?" I snarled.

"You're acting crazy! You're being unnecessarily violent, Annabelle! You weren't like this before!"

"Before? Don't make me laugh. Nobody was dead before. People are going to fucking die, Commander. You can't fix it and you can't take it back." I grabbed his collar and snarled, "If you think what I'm doing is unnecessary, be my fucking guest and get the hell out."

"C-Captain, you're hurting Captain Stewart!" Jacob exclaimed, his face beginning to swell from my earlier hit.

I pulled my foot back from grinding Stewart's head into the ground and scowled. "My crew, you're coming with me. Are we all packed up? If not, kick your asses in gear and let's go. We're losing daylight."

"Captain."

I turned to Mike, and his deadpan face confused me.

"That's enough."

...I bet I looked stupid. Shock and surprise fighting for control over my features, but at the same time rage and the feeling of betrayal churning underneath.

I didn't say anything. All I could do was turn and walk away, hoping that everyone just thought the tears in my eyes were left over from my belief of Ian's death.

So that's how it is.

Finally, it fell apart.

There was a strange sense of comfort in being by myself, sitting alone in a modified rescue boat with a sail. During the battle, I wouldn't have to worry about anyone else. Nobody would get hurt or die.

This is exactly what I wanted... No one else has to get hurt, and Leywei will die at my hand and my hand alone. It's perfect.

Sneaking off was one hell of a chore, though. Everyone was packing up, talking around and casting varying glances at me. Finally, I had been able to untie the small emergency boat from the side of the Bonnibelle without getting caught, but it took forever for an opening to sail away unnoticed presented itself.

If I had done the final battle revision meeting this morning, though, I wouldn't have even gone through the trouble. Everyone would know where I was going, and with a ship like mine, I'd be caught before I reached the next island. But, because of my little fight with everyone, nobody knew where the hell the battle even was. I had time to spare and no worries of being interrupted before I finish my job. Nobody.

If things had gone down differently, it may have been the same as it was yesterday. An army of ships sailing towards Leywei with nothing but the intent to kill, a bloodthirsty air sweeping in like fog.

But, here I am, alone and injured in a fucking modified rowboat sailing towards my death. Alone.

To be completely honest, I felt betrayed. Of course I expected them to be mad, but to tell me 'that's enough' was basically telling me that I was on my own. They weren't going to support me in this, no matter what.

Well, it's not like I was expecting to live anyway. But at the same time it sucks realizing that since someone like Andy wasn't around, I was going to die completely and utterly alone.

Oh well, it'll just make me look like even more of a badass in the history books.

The island was just like in my dream. Nothing but grey rocks and a gloomy sky.

I docked the boat just out of view of two guards standing guard and the main lookout points, and secretly made my way closer and closer to the entrance. I got to where I was just beside the first guard, creeping closer and in the perfect position for attack…

"Excuse me, my name is Pirate King Jones, and I believe Leywei wants to kill me." I said after tapping the man gently on the shoulder.

"P-Pirate King!? Call the soldiers! The army's here!" He yelled, pulling out his sword and pointing it at me.

"Sorry to disappoint you, sir, but I came alone. I left the army behind. They don't even know where I am."

The two guards looked at each other hesitantly, and I said with the most broken facial expression I could muster, "Please just take me to Leywei. I've already done everything I needed to do."

The two men's eyes met again, and they put away their weapons. "Okay, but we have to tie your wrists."

I put them behind my back without a word or shred of defiance.

It was a tedious walk. Spiral, slippery staircases, trick floors and walls, traps, nearly every cliché you could think of. Even the places that hadn't been modified for this battle were falling apart, and I was glad I hadn't brought the army. With so many people inside, the whole thing would have collapsed.

"So… you're the Pirate King?" The second guard said, holding up the torch as we walked.

"Yeah. I dueled the previous Pirate King, Morgan, last night at our campground. If my army had come, he and all of his crew would be here."

"You have those kinds of connections?"

I looked up from the floor and met the eyes of the first man, clutching the rope to my cuffs.

"I convinced the Naval Commander to fight on my side. That's why there's no navy crawling around the perimeter of the islands."

The two men nearly froze in their tracks.

"How did someone as powerful as you manage to show up completely willing to a death sentence?"

I laughed in spite of myself. "What did Leywei do to two nice men like you to lead a twenty-five-year-old maiden to her death?"

"Good point." They laughed.

Finally, I met those fabled double doors. A sea of confused and concerned soldiers, hired to kill anyone trying to protect me, stood now to my back as the ropes on my wrists were untied.

"Your wrists are bleeding. Why didn't you say I'd tied them too tight?" The first man asked.

"It's not like it's going to matter in two minutes, anyway." I offered a sad smile to him and the second guard, making sure to shatter their soft hearts into a billion pieces.

"Bye bye."

The double doors closed heavily behind me, and a grand stone ballroom with huge glass mirrors exposing the outside gloom made me feel almost lethargic. I was tired.

At the top of a similar, extravagant branching staircase stood Leywei, dressed in his finest coat-tailed suit and diamond encrusted monocle. His shoes were easily the price of my old house back home. He was definitely challenging me.

Slowly he descended, and when he stood just before me he stretched out his hand and bowed. "May I have this dance, Milady?"

Without a word I placed my hand in his, and his left arm snaked itself around my waist. My arm followed suit, draping itself behind his neck.

"Do you remember this, Annabelle?"

"Of course I do. You pulled me out to dance when I was here for work, and I ended up getting in trouble by my captain."

"It was just like this when I fell in love with you. That night, specifically."

"Really…?" I replied, my sarcasm leaking out of my words as I rested my forehead against his shoulder. "I never would have guessed."

He chuckled softly. "You know why I killed them, right?"

"Yeah."

"Say it out loud, Annabelle."

"Because you love me."

And why did you have to kill Blackbeard?"

"Because he went against orders and tried to hurt me."

"I see, you're very smart. I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

Leywei's arms pulled me closer to him, holding me so gently like they did that night seven years ago.

"Did you know that I loved you then?" He asked.

"Yeah."

He pursed his lips and began leading me more aggressively. "But you loved her?"

"Yeah."

We danced in silence for a bit more, a gentle spin or two in that time before he finally spoke again.

"You know, it's not too late for you to love me…"

I laughed softly into his shoulder.

His waltz came to a halt and he wrapped his arms around my back, resting his forehead against my shoulder. "It's really not too late."

"Leywei, you know that I can never forgive you for taking her away from me."

"You don't have to forgive me. You just have to love me."

"Listen to me. One of us is going to die today, or both of us."

"I don't want to kill you. I love you."

"Then why did you declare war on me, and tell lies about me to the navy commander?"

"Because you still love her. I'm so jealous of her. I can love you jut a much as she did, so why can't you choose me?"

"Have I ever told you why I loved her, Leywei?"

"No. but whatever she did, I can do it better."

My hands cupped his face gently, and he looked into my eyes so tenderly it was like I was looking right at Andy.

"Andy was free. She was happy, strong, and bright. Everything she did was with confidence and pride. She was a woman who lived her life to the fullest every day, despite being dealt a bad hand. I loved that about her, and that's why I can never forgive you. You took her life that she loved so much away."

Leywei clutched my hands as tears stung his eyes, and as his gaze fell to the floor he choked, "How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"You can't, Leywei. No one can." Gently I wiped his tears and said, "I'll never love anyone as much as I love Andy. I still love her. I'll always love her, for as long as I live. But because of you, she was taken from me. I'll never have Andy again, and without Andy… I just don't have a reason to live."

"That's not true, you idiot!" Leywei screamed, grabbing my shoulders roughly with tears spilling down his cheeks. "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you see that your life is so much more than that woman? Look at your crew, Annabelle! You saved those men. They'd be dead without you. Think about that one tranny or whatever back in Moldor, what would they be without you? Why can't you open your eyes and realize how many people would be lost without you?"

My name is Annabelle Denver Jones. I'm twenty-five years old, and I'm currently the Pirate King.

I smiled softly. "That's just not true. How am I supposed to guide people when I can't even get myself together?"

In my twenty-five years, I haven't done anything particularly amazing. I've fallen in love, become a pirate, and made a name for myself.

"Get real, Annabelle! If I kill you, what's that white haired brat gonna do? What about that intimidating teddy bear guy? What's that one sap on the Sirius going to do? How can you brush them aside so easily!?"

But I lost that love because I couldn't protect them. Being a pirate was the only way to make a decent living for myself. When you're a pirate, you have to survive. If you survive, your name suddenly has some meaning to it.

"They don't love me as much as I love Andy. They'll find it in themselves to move on."

There's nothing special about me.

"That's what pisses me off! You brush aside their feelings so easily, but you've never taken a second to think just how much they love you!"

There's nothing special about me.

"Never taken second to think just how much they love me, huh? I guess that's true."

I'm a coward.

My hands reached into my dagger' holster and clutched the hilt, placing it in Leywei's trembling hands. I wrapped my arms around his torso, leaving my back completely exposed as I buried my face in his chest.

I'm nothing but a selfish coward.

"Kill me, Leywei."

"Annabelle-!" He exclaimed, his voice shaking, begging and pleading for me to be pulling a joke.

"I don't want to live anymore. Please, kill me."

His hand clutched the hilt of the dagger and he raised the blade above his head, his entire body shaking all the way down to his bones. He was going to do it.

A cry rang out in the ballroom and the clack of metal on the stone floor was drowned out, Leywei's arms wrapping around me as rivers of tears poured from his eyes.

"I can't do it, Annabelle. I can't. I love you too much. I really, truly love you."

"Leywei, why do you never give me peace? You take my life away, and now you refuse to end my suffering... To you truly love me, or do you really hate me so much that you never want me to find happiness?"

"I'm sorry, Annabelle. I'm so, so sorry..."

"Do you want to know how to make it up to me?" I asked, pulling away from his chest and looking at his face with slightly parted lips.

"I'd do anything..." He said, his lips leaning in towards mine.

"Anything...?" I echoed, my hand tracing the side of his body.

"Anything."

His eyes were just about to close, and as I felt the heat of his lips just above mine I hissed, "Then die."

My hand pulled his pistol from the holster placed on his hip, and with one swift movement I sent three bullets straight through him. The first through his heart, the second right between the eyes, and just for kicks, one last one right through the roof of his mouth.

"Stupid old man." I scowled. Spitting of his bloody face, mutilated by blood splatter and bullet holes. "I hate you. Rot in Hell."

What kind of pirate would I be if I didn't rob the poor bastard down to his socks? Besides, he'd worn all of his best jewelry for the occasion, and upon further investigation I found a room loaded with goods. I'm talking legit doubloons, and piles of them. Gold encrusted treasure chests overflowing with valuables.

I was a picky one, though, so I only took real stuff that was worth major bank. Like those doubloons? I can fit a shit ton of those in my pockets, and my overcoat was custom tailored to be able to hold all kinds of weapons, so you can infer what those pockets were holding now.

I opened the double doors with a bit of swagger, throwing open the doors and twirling his gun around my finger.

"Listen here, men! That bastard is dead, and he's got a shit ton of treasure! Ransack him 'til he ain't even got his underwear!"

There was an uproar among the men, and as they flooded into the ballroom I took my happy ass back out to my modified escape boat.

I'm nothing special? Fuck that. I'm superhuman. I'm not special, I'm nothing that the world has ever seen before, and I just killed my biggest fucking enemy without getting a single scratch on me. Check fucking mate life.

As I set sail from the island and heard the sounds of the men ransacking every nook and cranny of that damned place, I didn't really have any idea of where to go. I' sure everyone was searching islands frantically for me, but someone was bound to be back at the original campsite.

Just as I moved to change my sails, Dantalion flew down from the sky with a letter attached to her leg.

"Good girl," I said gently, patting her head as I read the letter.

Dear Pirate King Jones,

Please come back to the main campsite if you're okay. No one meant what they said, but the last thing we want is for you to be dead. Please, please, please come back. If you don't come back by tomorrow morning, everyone has come to the collective consensus to expect the worst.

Captain Morgan, Captain Stewart, and Commander Leonardo

I laughed. People make it way too easy to cause a scene nowadays.


	17. Chapter 17

A large fire crackled before the morning sun came up, brightly shining light teasing clear skies but the lingering cold from the overcast hanging in the air.

Captains and naval ships began returning from their searches, coming up empty handed. No one had found the Pirate King since her disappearance yesterday.

This was weighing the heaviest on Michael, who had seen a new side to his Captain the previous night. He had expected her to laugh darkly and threaten him, completely lose her shit, and come to the realization she was stressing too much, but according to the events of the devious night, that didn't happen.

What else was he supposed to do then? Was there something else he could have done, or should he have just left her alone? What did he do wrong?

The way she looked at him almost broke his heart. It was like she was on the brink of tears, but at the same time, she was emotionless. He expected her to be angry, wasn't she?

She looked as if she had just been betrayed.

And it was his fault.

"Do you think she really went to fight him by herself?" Thomas asked, breaking everyone's train of deep thought.

"There's no way she didn't." Benjamin said, staring lifelessly at the fire.

"She didn't tell us where the battleground was. Do you think this was her plan all along?" Jacob asked.

"She's crazy, but she's not one to waste effort. She wouldn't have called all of us here and gone through so much trouble just to go off alone." Captain Stewart replied, "She would've just brought your ship and left you guys a note before disappearing."

"Is that what she did to you?" Leonardo asked.

"Yeah. I woke up one morning and my crew was freaking out, saying she'd jumped overboard once it was too dangerous to go back to port. We were running from the navy, and she just took her chance without a word to us. Her note said 'I'm leaving. I'm not losing her again.'"

"You mean she left your crew to sail with Andy?"

Stewart laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I told you, she's crazy. She only came back to the ship to grab as much cash as she could, and she used it to buy her ship."

Morgan howled. "Ain't she just a natural born pirate? To think she wanted to be a navy captain."

Benjamin smiled tenderly. "Yeah. She belongs here with us, not in such a strict and formal environment. It doesn't suit her."

A fluttering noise sounded just outside the area of light surrounding the campfire, and once the sound got even closer Dantalion burst into the ring of light. She landed on Morgan, pulling at his hat, then Benjamin, squawking while flailing her wings like crazy, then finally rested between Stewart and Leonardo.

Leonardo untied the letter and his face drained as he noticed the bloody handprint on the outside, nervously opening it and reading over the dried blood smudges.

"I'm pleased to inform you Annabelle has sailed away from this island in only slight discomfort. Her injuries are not a concern and should not affect her in the future. She is due to arrive soon. There is no need to worry about me from now on, I will not bother anyone in the foreseeable future. Dearest condolences, Captain Andrion Leywei."

"Condolences? Is he saying Anna is-!?"

The sound of wood scraping up against the sand directed the men's attention to the modified boat was being washed ashore, appearing to have no rider in the pre-morning light.

Everyone bolted to the boat and stood in shock as the bloodstained body of Pirate King Annabelle Jones lay face down, arm bent at an odd angle and legs piled underneath an untied sail.

"You're fucking kidding me." Stewart scowled, clenching both his jaw and his fists.

Leonardo kneeled beside the boat, clutching the sides as his head spun in circles. He crushed the letter in his hands, unwilling to accept she was really dead.

Morgan stood in shock, his senses becoming somewhat numb as he stared at her still body. He thought it was some kind of joke. There's no way she trumped his ass just to die the next fucking day.

"Didn't I tell you, Jones? Why the hell do you never listen? All of us told you!" Stewart screamed, tears apparent in his eyes as he raised his clenched fist.

"Don't touch her!" Nathan snarled, shoving Stewart back before he could strike her corpse.

"You got a problem, lover boy? Aren't you pissed off too?" Stewart glared at Ian and Benjamin, blankly staring at her. "What about you two? You love her, right? Aren't you mad she's never fucking listened to a word you've ever said!?"

"That's who Captain is." Jacob said, brushing the tears from his eyes. "She won't listen to anyone but herself because she doesn't want to regret anything else. You of all people should know, Captain Stewart."

"Miss Anna is very strong willed. Even if all of us had known and physically went against her, she would have fought every single one of us and went to fight anyway." Thomas added, his hand squeezing the totally not crying double swordsman's.

"This is probably the best situation for her. At least now she's not hurting so much anymore." Mike replied, patting a sobbing Tyler's back.

"What the fuck?" Nathan snarled, his fists clenched tightly as he glared at Mike. "The best situation for her? If the best situation was for her to be dead, she would have been dead a long time ago. What she wanted to do was kill that punk ass old man for ruining her life and killing her wife. Now he's prancing about with the Pirate King title like a fucking king. This is the absolute shittiest situation."

"Jesus fuck you guys are emotional. There're tears and anger and this gross feeling of depression."

Everyone turned to see Captain Jones stretching in the boat, blood splattered on her face but a cheeky as fuck grin right under, shining brilliantly in the new morning light.

"I killed him." She said, her uncovered eye shining like a glimmering star.

If you looked hard enough you could see the flash of panic in her eyes as everyone jumped to dogpile her, the sobbing young'uns smothering her as everyone else clung to her in relief.

There was a long night of sobbing, lecturing, laughing, and a badass retelling of how Annabelle finally killed that piece of shit followed by the biggest party of the century, but the most interesting part of the day didn't come until the following night.

Annabelle was, of course, the only one still sober after an entire day of partying, drinking, etc. and played mother/babysitter for all the drunken men whining, complaining, and picking fights. It was exhausting, but with Leywei gone she just left so… light!

A weight that had plagued her for years had been lifted. Nothing held her back now.

{...}

I had directed the bumbling men towards their ships as the sun set and started cleaning up, putting everything taken out away when I found the Sirius crew having an after party on their deck.

"Oi! If you men are sober enough to keep partying help me clean up!" I yelled to them.

"Damn, we got caught!" Morgan bellowed, sticking his tongue out at me before bursting into laughter.

The slightly sober Sirius crew cleaned up the remaining things and I began to crash, my all-nighter and emotional overexertion finally catching up with me, as well as the dissipation of any adrenaline I had left.

"Anna, you should go to bed."

"Shaddap." I growled, struggling to keep my eyes open.

Nathan picked me up without a word, and I didn't care enough to resist. I was so tired.

He took me to his room and set me on the bed, gently covering me with a blanket as my eyelids grew heavy.

"Nathan?" I asked, my voice a bit groggy.

"What?"

"Why do you love me?"

He seemed a bit taken aback, and I rolled over so I could see his face. It was a sight to behold; his cheeks completely red and a slight scowl underneath. His eyes moved to the floor and he opened his mouth, turning his head away slightly.

"The hell should I know?"

"Boooring." I said, turning over and covering my head with the blanket. "Confessions make great bedtime stories, you know."

Nathan sighed. "You could have just asked for a bedtime story."

"But then you'd go, 'Once upon a time' and that's even more boring."

"Anna, just go to sleep."

"Confess first!"

"By the time I start talking you'll be too tired to listen."

"Boo! Nathan doesn't love me!"

"Anna!"

"Ian! Benny!"

Nathan was quiet, and I knew I had just hit a nerve. Abusing jealousy was extremely low, and I felt terrible.

"Sorry. That was really rude."

He was still quiet.

I buried my face deeper into Nathan's blanket and asked, "Do you think it's possible to fall in love twice?"

Still, Nathan didn't speak up. I was beginning to think he left the room.

"I… love Andy. I really, really do. But now that Leywei's dead, and she's dead… After so long, how is it I still love her like I used to?"

Silence.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Is it possible to love someone new after loving someone else so much?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"…I think, maybe, I just might be able to possibly fall in love with you."

There was silence for a couple of seconds, so I sat up and looked the beet red Nathan straight in the face.

"I'm serious."

The bed shifted Nathan and kissed me, wrapping his arm around my back and pulling my body close to his. I was shocked, of course, but I felt no threat as he traced my jaw with his fingertip gently. Slowly he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, his hands moving up to cup my face. In an extremely cute gesture, his thumbs stroked my cheeks, which made me giggle. He was so cute.

"Are you really serious?" He asked.

"Of course. You're kind of drunk, so you won't really remember most of this anyway."

"Anna, I only had one bottle of liquor. I'm nowhere near drunk."

"Well then, you're being extremely bold. The other night, even when I was shirtless you didn't even want to look at me. I just kind of confessed to you and you're being pretty forward."

"Because taking advantage of a situation when you're not in your right mind isn't how I want anything to happen. I respect you as more than just someone I can hook up with."

My shoulders dropped and my arms went limp at my sides, my expression becoming blank as tears poured from my eyes.

"A-Anna!? Are you okay!? Shit, what happened now!?" He exclaimed, tilting my head up so my eyes met his.

"Fuck," I whispered, taking a looking down and wiping my eyes. "Why do you always know exactly what to say to me?"

He retreated a bit to give me some space. I appreciated that even more.

"I get it. You love me, and that's fine, but if you don't respect me then what right do you have to want me to love you back? The number one thing in love is respect and consent. Without respect or consent, there's no relationship to even begin with."

"Was it wrong of me to kiss you, then?"

I smiled. "Just you asking makes me even happier."

"Well then, can I kiss you again?" He asked.

"…Yeah, go ahead."

Nathan gently cupped my cheek, pulling me closer to him as he leaned in to plant a kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes and waited, but it didn't happen. When I opened my eyes I could see him looking back at me with such strong love and compassion I flinched. He was looking at me even more passionately than Andy did.

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

I pulled his collar and kissed him ferociously, pushing my back against the wall as I pulled his body closer to mine. Our lips met over and over, our hands pulling at clothing but not daring to go farther.

Nathan's lips traced my jawline, giving me a moment to breathe and try to think. His hands traced my sides, chills erupting over my body and making me almost dizzy. I could feel the ties of my corset being undone and I began to unbutton his shirt, his breath on my neck, my hands stopping at the unsettling feeling creeping up my spine. His lips touched the scar left from Eduardo's dagger, and it was as if a flash of lightning struck me right then and there. I shoved him away from me and my hand flew to cover the mark.

"S-stop…" I breathed, my body trembling.

"Shit, I forgot… I'm sorry, Anna." Nathan said, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. "I was just… caught up in the moment."

I took a deep breath and looked at him. "I don't know what's going to happen after this, but… How about we just… take it slow, or something?"

"…Yeah. Taking it slow sounds better." He said, getting off the bed and standing up. He tied my corset back up and planted a soft kiss on my forehead before stepping away. "This is enough for right now, right?"

I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him closer, resting my head on his chest and mumbling an agreement, closing my eyes and listening to his breathing. "Will you stay with me for just a little bit longer?"

I smiled to myself. This dork's heartbeat was thumping like crazy.

When I woke, a calming sense of tranquility surrounded me. For the first time in a long time, I didn't wake up from a nightmare. There was no dream in particular I could remember, but rather fragments of the time before my piracy, before naval school, the time where it was just my parents and I. Back before I knew the color green could get you killed.

I sighed and sat up, tightening my eyepatch and pulling my hat over my rat's nest of hair before trying to figure out where I was.

To my surprise, I was in my own bedroom and a folded note sat on my nightstand.

To Miss Annabelle Jones,

If you ever find yourself upset, irritated, lonely, angry, tried, about to fall apart, or just plain hungry, the Sirius ship and I will always be waiting for you.

-Nathan

I laughed a bit, tucking the folded letter into my hat.

Fucking loser.

"Well men, it's been a fairly indecent experience with you all, but it's not like anyone gives a shit anyway. Leywei is dead, so now there's no reason for war! However, I do have several last announcements."

There was a 'here we go again' look in everyone eyes, and I couldn't help but snicker.

"Starting today, I will personally make advancements in pirate's relationship with the navy. I don't want my old friend's power to be used against me, so negotiations and new laws will be coming."

Leonardo nodded, smiling in relief.

"Also, after negotiations, I would like to hold my first council meeting as Pirate King."

Cecil, Lee, and Van nodded.

"And finally, I would like to take a moment for myself." I bowed my head low, and held myself there for several seconds before facing the sea of men before me. "Without you men, I would not be standing here right now. In almost every alternate situation, I would be dead. Stewart, if not for you I would have been left to starve in Moldor. Leo, if not for you, I might have not made it through naval school alive. Sirius crew, without you I would have never learned to let go of Andy. And my very own Bonnibelle crew… Without you guys, I wouldn't be who I am. And to all of you, if you hadn't been here, I would not have had the courage to face Leywei and survive. As you all know, I was planning to die from the start. I was planning to use sheer numbers to power my way through an army, just so I could inflict enough damage on Leywei so he wouldn't survive. I didn't have the guts to face the reality. I was scared, and I'm still scared."

I took a moment to pause, and continued slowly. "I'm scared because I don't know what to do. Leywei is dead, Andy has been avenged. But what do I do now? With no reason to go on after accomplishing my goal, what do I do? I had planned to take the coward's way out and skip out on this part, but I've decided being a coward isn't very cool."

A gust of wind blew, sending a flurry of leaves up in the air.

"As Pirate King, I will live to create peace for my people. I do not wish to pillage or harm, but rather become strong enough to take any damage that may come from trying to make things right. Never again will I let myself try to run away." My eyes met Nathan's, then looked up to the sky. "I'm ready to move forward, instead of trying to go back."

"C-Captain… turn around…" Tyler stuttered.

I turned, and behind me stood none other than Captain Leywei.

"Hello again, Andrion." I said, tipping my hat to him.

"Annabelle." He replied, tipping his hat as well.

"Make a move and I kill you." I snapped back at the army of men.

They all stood confused, weapons out and defense up.

Leywei chuckled softly. "You're still the same. You said the exact same thing to me when we first met."

"Sorry, but when some creepy old guy is trying to cop a feel you've got to be a bitch."

Leywei laughed one more time and hugged me gently. "You know, I really do love you. I think I get it now, how much you love Andy. Even in death, it doesn't go away."

"I tried to tell you, but your dumbass didn't listen. Now you're dead because of it."

"I'm happy, though." He said, pulling back and placing his hands on my shoulders. "Since I'm dead now, I can't make you suffer anymore. Maybe I can meet your beloved Andy and apologize to her."

I smiled. "If you do see her, tell her I love her. But also let her know I'm moving on."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"You're supernatural now, you've got plenty of time to wait and see."

He smiled and stroked my hair softly. "That's my girl." Gently he cupped my face and his cold lips touched mine. "They're watching over you, too. Remember you're not alone."

"I know, old man. Now get out of here."

He tipped his hat once more, then turned to walk down the beach. Then he was gone.

"What the hell is it with ghosts confessing their love to you?" Eduardo asked.

"He told me when he was alive, actually. I gave him my dagger and told him to kill me, but he wouldn't do it. He said he loved me too much."

Morgan threw his arm over my shoulder and exclaimed, "Never a dull moment with you around, Missy!"

Laughter came from everyone, and after both formal and tearful goodbyes (*cough cough* Leonardo), everyone went their separate ways.

Who would have guessed it was after the war the real adventure would start?

{...}

Things tend to change. In every way, shape, and form, there are changes. She'll never forget the changes she made in her life.

She'll never forget the Pirate-Navy Pact, institutionalizing the rights of pirates but placing more specific laws and punishments, as well as evaluating the mistreatment of prisoners held by the navy. Of course all these meetings helped with both parties attitudes towards each other, but because these negotiations were often held behind closed doors some pretty nasty rumors started amongst both pirates and the naval forces, but those who were there the night of the war and heard her conviction were quick to stomp those flames.

And who could forget the LGBTQIA+ movement? She put lots of awareness into the minds of the pirates and the navy, who then spread the information to the people.

For a while, she even went to college and took more classes than humanly possible, but she was more worried about learning the material and understanding than passing every single class. She had money to spare anyway.

There were some nights when she'd hold her pistol and place the barrel to her chest, her temple, or in her mouth, but then she'd look back and think, "What the hell? I don't have time for this! I have shit to do!"

It was hard. Some nights she'd come back from something crying, and would lock herself in her room only to ask for a group hug less than an hour later. Then she'd get pissed off and rant, then march right back to whoever made her cry and force things to go her way. After all, no one was stronger than her.

For a long time, she wrote. No one knew what, but she wrote and wrote and wrote. When asked she'd either shoo you away or smile and say it was nothing important. She kept those papers under tight lock in her room, away in a case under her bed.

She was a very open person. She had learned to be honest and smiled a lot more, but when she was alone there was always a scowl or a look of sadness. But then again, what person was always happy?

Her execution was one of the biggest events in both the pirates and Moldarian history. It was a sight to behold- the naval commander being held back by four or five of his men, screaming bloody murder there was no way, she definitely hadn't killed the prince. Pirate crews were pulling up left and right, pummeling through the crowd to the guillotine, and in the burliest voice she could muster bellowed, "Pirates, stand down! This is a direct order!"

As they debated obeying or not, the rope to the guillotine about to be pulled, she looked at her people and smiled. Her eyes closed and screams sounded all in the crowd. Just as the blade was released she jumped up and kicked the navy officer holding her, the executioner taking off his mask and revealing himself as none other than the Moldarian prince.

Oh, the scandals! Prince and King together!? Prince and King to be married in the coming months!? Prince to run away to join King as a pirate!?

Tabloids. How many people's lives would be better without them?

Those rumors faded, but then there was the assassination attempt. Five shots fires, four deflected, one lodged right beside her heart through her back.

Of course Mike was there, but one man could only do so much with medical knowledge and finesse in the 1400's. So, in an act of desperation, he called upon an old friend.

{...}

Dantalion flew over open seas for who knows how long, but as she spotted a familiar ship in the distance and the rowdy crew holding their full moon party, her squawk called all the men's attention. She landed with the doctor, holding her arm out impatiently and ruffling her feathers, hopping on his arm as he read the letter.

"What's it say? Is it from her?" The captain asked.

"No, it's from Mike. Anna's in trouble."

"What happened to her?" The greenhorn asked, peeking over the doctor's shoulder.

"She's been shot, and the wound isn't getting better. Mike is afraid she's going to die."

"What the hell? What happened to 'I'm not going through all this just to die'?" The navigator growled, crossing his arms.

"It was an assassination attempt."

"What? Who'd want to assassinate Anna?" The chef asked clutching the chain of his sickle sword.

"She's been busy these last two years. There's a lot of people after her."

"Well, looks like it's time to pay an old friend a visit." The captain said, smiling widely. "Set our course for Moldor."

"Aye."

{...}

After two years of working on myself and the world around me, once again I felt like dying. The pain was excruciating. I didn't want to eat, sleep, breathe, or even think. I just wanted it to stop.

Nothing was getting better. Mike and my crew were going to drive themselves mad with worry. The wound kept getting more and more infected, and I felt worse and worse. I lost the ability to speak. I couldn't move very much.

I was dying.

"They're here!"

Who's here?

"Quick, get Christopher in here!" Mike exclaimed, jumping up and running over to his tray.

"I'm here! Show me the wound!" Christopher exclaimed, running into the room.

I felt the fabric of my shirt being pulled and heard, "There's no other way. We have to take the bullet out."

"Are you joking? She'll bleed out if we open the wound!"

"There's no other way! At this rate, she's going to die in three days if you don't take the bullet out!"

"…Damn it! Fine, get your gloves on!" I heard Mike say as there was a cold pain in my arm.

Everything started growing dull, and I just wanted to sleep…

When I woke, I felt like death. My back felt extremely tight, and I had knots aching like nobody's business. My whole body felt heavy, but as I regained myself I felt a ravenous hunger coming from deep inside my soul.

Just then, the smell of breakfast hit me.

I needed food, and I needed it now.

With no hesitation I pushed myself up off of the infirmary bed, and as my feet hit the floor I swayed with the movement of the ship. I nearly fell over, but as the scent of fresh pancakes wafted into the infirmary I channeled the strength of my ancestors and marched into the dining room.

I threw the dining room door open and looked at the ten men sitting in their chairs somewhat somberly, their eyes turning to me and widening with surprise.

"I want pancakes." I growled.

"Captain! You shouldn't be standing up yet!" Tyler exclaimed, standing up and walking towards me.

"I'm hungry."

"A-Anna, why don't we go back to the infirmary, and Ian will bring you breakfast in a minute? For right now you can rest-"

I glared at him and snarled, "I want pancakes."

Just then the pancakes came through the adjacent kitchen door, Ian appearing as an angel with golden brown perfection in his hands. Hi's eyes widened a bit when he saw me, but he hurriedly showed his second hand and said, "Captain, yours have strawberries."

I swear to god I almost burst into tears, but as soon as I sat down I tore into those pancakes like there was no tomorrow. Bless you, Ian, you precious baby.

After breakfast everyone tried making me go back to the infirmary, but there was no way in hell I was laying on my stomach for the next three days to recover. I'd been through worse, I'd be fine.

"Nathan, come sit with me." I said, patting the space on the cargo box beside me.

He smiled and sat down next to me, leaving a little distance between us.

"Dantalion was going to send you my next letter, but I got shot before I could send it. I bet you were getting worried." I said, looking out over the water.

"I was worried, but right now I'm concerned as to who wants to kill you."

"They always come after me when I'm in Reiz. This time, they were just desperate."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's these things called money and power. When your family has those, people like to take them from you."

"I thought you didn't have any family."

"I do. They just don't want me."

It looked like Nathan didn't know what to say.

"I'm not upset about it or anything. Honestly I wasn't even supposed to exist. Because of the situation they got rid of me. They could have just killed me, but I'm grateful they didn't. I never would have been able to meet you or Andy, or change the world like I have."

"Have you talked to them?"

"Yeah, once. When I was in naval school we went on a mission in Reiz, and because I was a girl I was used as bait. The enemy captured me as a distraction, but they took off my eyepatch and next thing I knew I was bound and sold for ransom. My parents bought me and had a lengthy conversation with me, before sending me on my way and telling me they never wanted to see me again."

"What the hell?"

"It's nothing to get upset about. My mother has had multiple miscarriages with her husband, but she got raped and I was born. I should have been a miscarriage. Even after she had me, she had a miscarriage. Of all her pregnancies, it was her rape that gave her a live child. I don't even think my father knows I exist."

"Anna…"

I smiled. "It's okay. I should be grateful for the life I have. Because I shouldn't have existed, it just means I need to try harder to make my life worthwhile."

Nathan squeezed my hand and looked at me earnestly. "I love you."

I rested my head on his shoulder and replied, "Thank you."

We sat together for several minutes, not saying a word and just enjoying each other's company. I found it somewhat relaxing to have someone beside me, someone I could hold or lean against, kiss them if I wanted to, or just talk about anything in the world. It was so different having Nathan physically beside me rather than on paper.

I sighed a bit, relaxing my shoulders as I leaned into Nathan's shoulder. "I have to work."

His cheek rested on my head. "On what?"

"Letters."

"Captain, the crew wants to talk with you."

I looked up and saw Mike, his face solemn.

"Ah, damn it. I was hoping to get out of this one, but whatever." I jumped down from the cargo box and turned to Nathan. "Nathan, be a dear and tell Christopher I won't be needing his care anymore."

I left him before he could say anything back, and I faced my stone-faced crew in the dimly lit dining room.

"I'll begin writing the letters tonight. For now, we can't let what happened with the Sirius crew repeat itself, or I may be in some real trouble."

After five days locked away in my study, allowing no one but Ian to enter with food, I had constructed and written seventy-two letters to my seconds-in-command, letting them know they will temporarily be in charge of negotiations and movements in my absence. In these letters was one to Leo, stating my demands and not necessarily forcing him through blackmail to bend to my will, but rather gentle suggestions doused in threat.

My back had now fully recovered, and it was time to talk with the Sirius.

"So, Morgan, what are you planning to do now?" I asked, my feet propped up on the table like old times.

"I'm not sure. We'll probably head to Moldor or Reiz and search for treasure."

"I'll be heading straight for Reiz by tonight. I have some business to wrap up there before I'm back on the sea for a while."

"You've become a busy woman these past few years." He said, taking a sip of his rum.

"Yeah, well… I needed to do something, but now it's boring I don't know what to do anymore. My contact with everyone now is just kind of… uninteresting? I know I'm the head of the movements, but after forcing my way through bigotry and lying the framework… it's kind of just steady progress from here. I don't like steady. I'm a trailblazer. I need challenges and obstacles and shit that push me past my limit so I can be stubborn as hell and overcome it. That's the only way I'll get stronger."

"You know, Nathan never forgot about you."

I threw my head back and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah… but that's a battle I'm probably not going to fight."

"Is it because of the other two?"

"Those are battles I've been postponing for two years. I haven't given either an answer, so they still probably have some hope."

"How have you evaded them for two whole years?"

I planted my feet on the floor and rested my elbows on the table. "I lived with Leo for about a year during negotiations, since it was a lot of time wasted running back and forth between treasure hunting and meetings. So my crew lived by themselves until the bulk of negotiations were over. The fights were really bad at one point, but once they all beat the shit out of each other and screamed their lungs out they changed. Even now it's different. The change was all I needed to know they can survive and stay together without me."

"Anna, not this again-"

"I'm not talking about dying." I said, putting my hand up. "All I'm saying is that I don't have to be a pirate captain anymore. So I tested that and travelled on land for a long time with no contact. When I finally reached out to them, it was because I knew the assassination attempt was coming close. I needed Mike there or else I would have died."

"What does this have to do with Nathan?"

"Nathan is in love with me. So are Benjamin and Ian. But, like I've said before, Benny and Ian are able to learn to live without me. Nathan, however, is a little more persistent."

"How so?"

"I tried the same tactic with him, slowly cutting off contact, but he'd send more than one letter if I didn't reply. He'd also gather information about me, instead of waiting for me to tell him. But then again, I never told him not to."

"Did you tell your crew something different?"

"Well, I did tell them asking around about me would put them in danger. At first they collected information anyway, but after about six months they stopped. Even after I would send them a letter, they wouldn't ask around. And there's another sign that eventually they won't need me anymore."

"But Nathan is different?"

"Yeah… Nathan is Andy's Anna. Content with what he has, always wanting more… and since he now has the possibility, he's going to pursue it with everything he has. If he gets it, not even death will be able to stop him."

"So what are you planning to do?"

"I can reject him beforehand, but I'll need to do it soon. If I tell him I'm in love with him but reject a relationship after, then proceed to cut all contact, it will definitely be more effective."

"Well, are you in love with him?"

I heaved a sigh and looked at the captain seriously. "Probably."

"Then what's the problem?"

"There's some other things I haven't told you, Morgan. It just so happens those things are the reason why."

"As long as you're not planning to die, I'm fine with whatever you're doing."

I laughed. "That's another problem entirely. But, regardless, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?"

"Let me be captain of the Sirius again."

"Jacob, will you do me a favor?" I asked, exiting the dining room.

"Sure Cap'n, what is it?"

"Will you get Ian and Benny to meet me in my room? And if you see Mike, tell him to gather everyone on the deck from both crews."

"Aye!" He said enthusiastically before running off.

It didn't take long for the men to enter, sitting hesitantly in two chairs as I scribbled on some parchment at my desk.

"So, boys, I don't like wasting time so I'll get right to the point." I turned to face them, sticking Dantalion's feather back in my hat. "Do you two still love me?"

"Of course!" They exclaimed together.

"I'd recommend getting over it. You see, things are going to be changing soon."

"Captain, you're not-"

"Thinking about dying, no. What I'm saying is in the near future, I'm not going to be a pirate anymore."

"…You're joking."

I shook my head. "Sooner or later, after we arrive in Reiz, you boys are going to learn something. I wanted to keep it secret, but because fate likes to fuck with me, I don't have a choice. I'd rather give everyone the real explanation rather than setting up an elaborate scheme to cover it up, just so you'll find out later."

"Captain…"

"Don't worry. I'm not just saying this to you two so I can be with Nathan. His rejection will be a little bit more… harsh."

"Is this what you want?" Ian asked.

I smiled. "It's never been about what I want."

Out on the deck everyone was already waiting, a bit concerned at my sudden calling, but as I sat on a box and crossed my arms Morgan only made the situation worse by saying he didn't know what was going on.

"Listen, boys. Before you go assuming things; no, I'm not trying to get myself killed and no, there's not going to be any grand battle where I put my life in danger. This is in relation to the assassination attempt as well as my next move."

They all settled down a bit.

"The assassination attempt is due to my lineage. There are only two possible motives, and only three solid accusations I can make. So, I'm going with the plan most suited to my reputation and totally fucking up anything those people may have planned. The Bonnibelle will sail straight to Reiz and we'll pay a visit to the Queen."

"The Queen? I thought you and the Queen weren't on good terms." Benjamin said.

I laughed. "We're not. That's the fun part, though, because I get to watch her lose her composure. You men will find out why later, but moving on. I have only two important things to say." I crossed one leg over the other and rested my elbow on my knee. "Boys, once again I am captain of the Sirius."

"How!?" Thomas exclaimed, both confused and elated.

"Through some… gentle persuasion. But of course I have a reason which correlates with my next move. I will be your captain for the only a short time, though, until I completely retire from piracy."

Everyone was dumbstruck, except for the two I had already told.

"Captain, are you sure about this? You've told me before, being a pirate-"

"Being a pirate is the one thing that made life worth living." I took my hat off my head, standing up and holding my hands behind my back. "Yes, piracy made me feel alive. The memories and relationships I have made in my piracy have been the best. However, I believe it is time for me to move somewhere I have no ties. It the pirating world I have close relationships with many, but those have the potential to turn sour and work against me. So I will simply cut all my ties and leave it all behind."

"Anna… you're joking."

I shook my head. "The next few weeks will be the last I spend with all of you. After this, contacting you will be nearly impossible. So, I'm letting you know here and now, once my business in Reiz is complete, it is my will that Benjamin is Captain of the Bonnibelle and the Pirate King title is returned to you, Morgan."

"Anna, I know I told you as long as you're not going to die I'll support you, but this is ridiculous. What the hell would make you stop wanting to be a pirate?"

"I never said I wanted to stop being a pirate, but this isn't about what I want. This is about something completely the opposite."

"Captain," Ian said softly, gently taking hold of my hand, "why do you never do what you want? Why can't you be honest?"

"What I want isn't important. If I do what I want, or if I don't, either way I'll regret it for the rest of my life." My hands balled into fists and I covered my eyepatch, my brows drawing in tightly as I tried not to let frustration get to me. "I'm going to do what's best for everyone, not for myself. That way I won't feel so guilty when I look back at it."

"Anna, what the hell are you talking about?"

I looked up and saw Nathan, his hands balled into fists and anger apparent in his expression. He knew exactly what I was getting at.

I stepped away from all of them, shaking my head and organizing my thoughts. "Listen, Nathan, this isn't what I want. I just- I just have something I have to do. No one else can do it, and if I don't I-"

Nathan grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away, stomping on the deck with every step. Of course I was strong enough to pull away, of course I could have ripped my arm free and said something that would hurt him, but… some part of me wanted to follow him.

"What the hell Anna!?" He screamed, his hands on either side of me as I was pushed against a wall. "What are you getting at? You don't want what? You have to do what? It pisses me off that you're being so fucking cryptic and acting like my feelings are a game!"

"You don't understand, Nathan!"

"No, I understand plenty! You think this is all a game. You think not writing me back will making me stop loving you? You think going away will making me stop loving you? You think saying or doing anything will make me stop loving you like those two crewmates of yours? This isn't a fucking game, Anna! I love you!"

"I know, damn it, I know!" I screamed, getting in his face. "Do you think I want to lie and say I don't love you!? Do you think it makes me happy thinking that I'm going to have to hurt you because we can't be together!? How the fuck do you think it makes me feel knowing you love me so fucking much, but this will turn out just like Andy and I!? I hate this, god damn it, I hate it!"

"Then what the fuck are you running away for!?"

"I'm not running away! I'm doing what's best for everyone!"

"You think running away from me is what's best!?"

"God damn it Nathan, What the fuck do you want me to do!?"

"I want you to love me!"

"Well I do, you fucking moron!"

The room was quiet, nothing but the sound of our heavy breathing stopping the silence.

I pushed my hair back and snarled, "Damn it… There, I said it, okay? I love you. Are you happy now?" My hand wiped tears from my eyes and I continued, "I want to be with you, Nathan. I want to be a pirate. I want to stay on the Bonnibelle and hunt for treasure and fight Alan or one of the many people who want to kill me once in awhile, but I can't anymore. I have a job to do, and damn it I didn't want you to know yet but if it's so goddamn important I don't have a choice."

"Anna," Nathan said, moving his hands from the wall to cup my face.

"Take off my eyepatch."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Nathan's hand grabbed the end of the string and pulled it, my eyepatch falling to the floor. My eye was closed beneath it, and I was extremely reluctant open it. I was scared that Nathan would run away, or possibly not love me anymore after seeing it, but then I realized… that was ridiculous.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, opening both of my eyes and looking at him directly.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So you have to take over?"

"I'm going back to take what's mine, whether my mother likes it or not."

"Do you have to?"

"Yes. With my father dead and no rightful heir, if I don't step up then someone is going to kill my mother and try to take power for themselves." I placed my hand over his and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Who else to keep the peace and scare off assassin's than me?"

Nathan enveloped me in his arms, his body shaking slightly. "I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to go, but I have to."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Nathan pulled away from me slightly, still holding me in his arms, and leaned in towards me.

I closed my eyes, clutching his shirt and standing on my tiptoes, just to reach his lips a little bit faster.

Just then the door flew open and we jumped away from each other, my arm diving for my eyepatch like my life depended on it. Dantalion flapped her wings at me before landing on the table, squawking as if she was in distress.

Quickly I untied the letter from her leg, and I was confused to see the Moldarian Royal crest on expensive parchment. I opened the letter cautiously, wondering if it was somehow from Leo, but as I started reading my face went pale, and as I finished the last sentence and my eyes met the signature, I lost all strength in my legs.

"Anna! What's wrong!?" Nathan exclaimed, kneeling at my side.

"I'm… I'm betrothed to the prince of Moldor."


	18. Chapter 18

Nathan slammed the dining room door behind him, storming away somewhere else. The instant I saw his face I knew he was upset, that he'd try to convince me otherwise, and honestly if he'd spoken up before I did I would have went along with it.

But, as he opened his mouth I smiled and said, "Well, I guess a prince could love someone like me if they tried."

Then he was gone.

I reread the letter one more time, my thumb rubbing over the prince's signature fondly as I recalled our shenanigans in Moldor in the months previous. His given name was Caiden, which I had grown to calling him by the time of our parting. We'd grown very close, but in a way the tabloids refused to believe.

Of all the people I'd met in my lifetime, I probably would have said Prince Caiden was one of the most attractive men I'd ever met. He had long, straight blonde hair that reached to his hips, sparkling blue eyes, and cute little round spectacles. His nose would crinkle when he laughed, and he had a childlike smile akin to that of Thomas. His voice wasn't particularly masculine, but he spoke with such presence and authority that his pitch could have been that of a five year old girl and he's still catch all the attention in the room. He had the refined air of a scholar, finely pressed clothes and his hair tied back. That's exactly what he was- a scholar, and in my time with him I'd learned so much and been able to read so many more books than I'd ever imagined I would.

That's what our relationship was. That of two scholars engaging in friendly conversation and debate. Being educators to each other and growing very close as our words clashed. It was relationships such as those that a pirate like me almost never got to have, so as one can probably tell I was ecstatic. If I wasn't with him I was most likely talking about him, and dangerous things like that get mistaken for love.

Caiden had been the same, which made the situation and tabloids even more toxic. Everything exploded when he left a dinner party and was found in his study laughing with me, but once I found out I smacked the back of his head and intimidated the hell out of him, screaming and calling him an intellectual idiot.

He didn't skip anything else after that, but the tabloids only took that in the wrong way as well.

I didn't mind such attention, however. It brought attention to my name and therefore gave me the tools I needed to rocket launch the success of my movements and plans. An interview was somehow arranged with the most popular publishing house of the century, so of course I talked about being gay and how I've never needed a man to do things for me.

The response was chaos. Sweet, sweet, gender stereotype-shattering chaos.

Caiden got a kick out of it too, the response invoking such innocent laughter from him he shed actual tears. The backlash against 'our relationship' from his council is what really got him though. He told me those men thought I was a danger, that I would corrupt him and seize power for myself, and eventually one spewed the notion I was a witch and I should be burned, talking about how I ended a war by myself and could beat the shit out of men, how that wasn't normal.

"And you're letting these buffoons run your country? Hell, if that's how it is I might as well take power sooner rather than later."

Caiden chuckled, turning the page of a book I'm sure he'd read over one thousand times. "Patience, Annabelle. There's still much to be done before you even think about things like that."

I'd stuck my tongue out at him and continued with my own book.

In hindsight marrying Caiden didn't seem like a bad idea. It was the rejection I needed to keep Nathan away and to let him forget, and his position as Prince of Moldor would give me indispensable access to anything I'd ever need. He wasn't a bad man in any aspect, either, and it's not like we couldn't be married in name only. We were both smart enough to figure out how to get around the problem of an heir to proceed us, so there really wasn't any downside.

I folded up the letter and tucked it in my hat, where several others were.

I looked out the dining room and called for Jacob, telling him to get Thomas for a private meeting.

The two entered and sat down nervously as my feet rested on the table. In my hand was the letter, which I tossed on the table for them to read.

Their eye grew wide, and in hysterical unison they exclaimed, "You're betrothed to the prince!?"

"Yes, it was announced last week that the Moldarian King and Queen wish for him to marry me."

"And who decided that for you!?"

I smiled, remembering my performance only minutes before. "I did."

"But what about Nathan?" Thomas asked, his eyes becoming filled with tears as he pieced together my words and actions.

"I've said this already; I have a job to do. Marrying Caiden will be a game changer, and will give me an almost unfair advantage over those who stand in my way."

"Captain, you can't be serious." Jacob said, crushing the letter in his fist.

"Oh, I'm completely serious. That's why I called you two here specifically, to discuss how the raid of the castle will go."

"I'm sorry, Miss Anna, but I do not wish to go through with these plans. You are purposely hurting Nathan, and I do not-"

"Thomas, have you been listening to anything that I've said since I've gotten back on this ship?"

He turned his gaze away, biting his lip and seeming as if he was about to scream, but when Jacob put his hand on his brother's shoulder Thomas whimpered, "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"Sometimes doing the right thing means you have to hurt people. It's not like Nathan and I would ever work out, anyway. Love just doesn't work out for me."

"Captain, have you ever stopped to think that love is hard for you because you don't want it to work?" Jacob asked, rubbing his brother's back.

"Of course. That's why I'm here today. There's somewhere I need to be, and if love is going to prevent me from getting there, I'll just get rid of it."

"Miss Anna, how can you think so cruelly? Can't you see that Nathan-"

"Can't you two idiots see that I'm trying to save your country!?" I yelled, slamming my fist on the table. "You two are the royal sons, but I bet you didn't know the king is dead and the country's falling to ruin under your vain and greedy stepmother! I bet you two didn't know she's about to go to war with Moldor, which will completely annihilate their food supply because of the soldiers leaving home and being unable to tend to their crops! I fucking bet that you two had no idea that the same group that tried to kill me is going to infiltrate the palace disguised as dignitaries so they can assassinate the Queen and take power! I bet you didn't fucking know that, huh boys!?"

The two stared at me, mouths parted slightly and eyes wide with shock.

I slowly leaned back in my seat and covered my eyes with my hat, not wanting them to see the tears of frustration in my eyes. "Since the king is dead it is now impossible for the Queen to remarry and try to produce another heir before her illness takes over. Since neither of your whereabouts are known to the royal family, the topic of heir has become an international issue. A meeting will be held in two weeks, where all those in power all over the world will meet to try and convince the queen why their son or daughter is worthy of the throne. But, if a daughter is selected she will then be the one to marry Caiden."

"The first daughter of Reiz is betrothed to the first prince of Moldor…?"

"Exactly. But because of the assassination organization planning to take power, things won't even get that far if the queen doesn't choose any of their selected ambassadors. I'm not too sure of their numbers, but a healthy amount of attendees will be imposters. If one of them is chosen nothing will happen until she's married, because then her power cannot be revoked, and the organization will rule both Reiz and Moldor. I'm going to be the one to stop that."

"If you marry the prince before the next heir is chosen, then everything-"

"Wrong!" I said, jumping up and snatching the letter from Jacob's hand. "This letter is all I need to fuck everything up! Because we're betrothed, there's not a damn thing the queen or anyone else can do about it! Now those assassins will only be able to gain power to a ruined country. The queen of Reiz is sure to get pissed at the king and queen of Moldor so she'll most definitely declare war, therefore giving me, the next queen of Moldor, every right to storm her castle and seize power. Then I work on rebuilding my country."

"Captain…"

"So, Thomas, do you still think I should stay behind and be with Nathan, acting like I didn't just let two entire countries fall to ruin and betray a dear friend by letting him get married to someone I knew was only after power despite us being betrothed?"

Thomas was quiet for a moment. "Miss Anna… Nathan looks at you the way I want Russell to look at me. He's… He's the Anna to your Andy."

"I know."

Thomas looked up at me and asked, "If we're going to Reiz, why don't we just tell the Queen who we are?"

"Yeah, as the royal sons, why don't we just take power?" Jacob added.

I laughed. "Thomas, if the queen found out who you were, you'd never see Russell again. And Jacob, you'd never get Ian to figure it out. He's let me go. You can tell him now."

"But that's not fair to you. You're not even a royal, so why should you have to do give up your love? Captain, I have no chance with Ian. He's still hung up on you-"

"Your pancakes have twelve strawberries. Mine have ten."

Jacob's cheeks flushed and I smiled softly.

"Besides, you said it yourself. Love is hard for me because I don't want it to work."

My study was quiet; void of any other presences, thoughts, or voices. Only the rocking of the ship and my own breathing.

As well as my laughter.

Lying is fun.

The next morning Ian pulled me into the kitchen, closing the door quickly behind him and pushing me against it, his hands on either side of me with his head hung low.

"Ian, I'm not going to stay, and I won't be coming back."

"Captain-"

"No, Ian, you don't love me anymore."

"But-"

I cupped his face in my hands and showed him a smiling face. "You're conflicted right now, right? But you've noticed it too."

Tears filled his eyes as his face flushed, and he placed his hands over mine. "I don't know what to do."

I wiped his tears with my thumbs, stroking his cheeks gently. "Just keep giving him twelve strawberries. He's a smart boy, he'll figure it out."

"What about Ben?"

"Just leave that big baby to me."

He held my hands tighter, telling me he had something else to say.

"Yes, Ian, what is it?" I asked softly.

"All we want is for you to be happy."

I laughed softly, a bit taken aback by his comment. "Being on this ship and meeting all of you has made me the happiest person in the world, but all good things must come to an end. It's time for me to go."

Ian clutched my hands even tighter, desperately trying to convince me not to leave.

"Ian."

Tighter.

"Let go."

His hands were trembling.

"Let me go."

He was panicking.

"Are you afraid because I'm not coming back this time?"

"I don't… I don't want to never see you again."

"Jacob kissed you, didn't he?"

Ian flinched and released my hands, his blush becoming so potent even his ears turned red.

"And you're scared because you don't know if you ever really loved me in the first place."

"C-Captain-"

"Ian, let me tell you. The love you felt for me is nothing compared to the love you feel for Jacob."

"But I love you, Captain!"

"Yes, you do, but you love Jacob more. It's okay for you to want me to stay, but it's not okay for you to try and stop me from leaving."

Ian looked up at me with tears in his eyes, more heartbroken than I'd ever seen him before. It was then I heard footsteps nearing the door.

"Goodbye, Ian."

Just as the footsteps were about to pass I threw open the door, grabbing the orange haired boy by his shirt and switching places with him, closing the door behind me and holding it.

"I-Ian!? What's wrong!? Why are you crying!? What did Captain do!?"

I laughed as his bluntness and walked down the hall, but only after flipping Ian's sign from 'enter at any time' to 'cooking - do not disturb'.

Isn't is just wonderful how my ships always sail?

It was only in the dining room I found Benjamin and Morgan, engaged in a drunken arm wrestling battle as Mike and Russell cheered them on, Thomas looking almost lost as he tried to get them to calm down.

I scoffed and exited, making a note to talk to both Mike and Benjamin later.

"Captain!"

I turned and saw Tyler, smiling widely and out of breath. "Since you're leaving soon, I want you to train me!"

I laughed. "Do you now? You do know what you're getting yourself into, right?"

"Of course! It's basically hell, but I want to be strong like you!"

I smiled at him and said, "You've changed a lot in two years. You actually like me now."

"Of course I do!" He said, jumping up and grabbing my hand. "You're my role model! I look up to you so much!"

I laughed again, this time in embarrassment, and said, "W-well, I don't think you should go that far, I'm not a very great role model-"

"Oh, but you are! You started a crew by yourself, totally came back from a dark place, planned a war and ended it all by yourself, became Pirate King, and now you're doing something else! You're a great role model!"

I brushed my hair out of my face, blushing like a pathetic schoolgirl. "O-okay Tyler. If you say so."

He cocked his head and looked at me a moment, but then with the most evil smirk on his face he asked, "Captain, are you embarrassed?"

If I was an animated character, steam would have shot from my ears. Once again I resorted to flustered laughter and replied, "Well, yeah. People don't compliment me often, and when they do it's usually so I won't do something they don't want me to do."

"Really? I'd think someone like you would get compliments all the time."

"If compliments mean bullets and nasty rumors, I guess so. But, if you're serious, training begins now."

"Aye!"

We started off with a test sparring match, and he'd definitely improved since my departure. My men had trained him well, but now it was my turn to teach him what it meant to give and receive a can of whoopass.

It was during these times I liked to remember the past. In the beginning Tyler absolutely hated me. He despised having to take orders from a woman, but in his case I understood. He was one who had an inferiority complex, and a deep distrust towards anyone. It nearly brings tears to my eyes seeing how much he's changed.

Never in my life will I forget the intense fear I felt looking into his eyes, him walking towards me with such bitterness but a sense of determination. He was determined to conquer me, show me who was boss, that I was his to command and pleasure.

If it was in a different context it would have been hilarious. Tyler, an 18 year old at the time, draped over me wearing nothing more than a garter belt, some underwear, and thigh high socks. He looked hilarious, looking back on it, but at the time I swear to god I was both confused and aroused. Don't get me wrong, it was fuckin weird, but damn he looked good.

My men had all been occupied by the girls, but I forbade them since the moment they stepped on my ship from actually doing anything with the poor brothel women. This was the first time, however, that I was being 'served' by a man in a brothel.

In my head there were a lot of things happening, a lot of things I could do, and a hell of a lot more things that could happen, but as this boy traced my jaw with his other hand holding my waist, growling in a low voice he thought I was cute, I decided to have some fun.

I grabbed him by the waist, biting my lip and watching as he tried hard to hide his fear. "Well, I must say I've never seen something like this before."

Quickly he regained himself and placed his laced fingers behind my neck, pulling my face closer to him. "Well, there's lots more things I can show you that you've probably never seen before."

I bit back laughter at his butchered line and smirked. "Well then, pretty boy, why don't you give me a show?"

Oh god, looking back the looks on my men's faces were hysterical. They were absolutely shocked that I was actually showing interest in someone, especially a man. I'm surprised I didn't burst into laughter at any point during the interaction.

I was pulled into one of the back rooms, and I gave a look to my crewmembers letting them know that no, I wasn't going to do stuff, but rather something completely reckless that would probably save this boy's life.

He pushed me down on one of the beds roughly, putting a bit too much pressure on my shoulder, and his hand was shaking as his fingers worked at the ties of my corset. He was obviously inexperienced with women, and it amused me to see the poor boy fumble. I was probably the only woman he'd ever seen walk in as a customer.

With the corset finally coming undone he worked at the buttons on my shirt, but his hand were shaking so much past the third button I figured it was finally time for me to take charge. In one fluid movement I flipped him over, holding his shoulder with one hand as the other supported me.

"Boy, you have absolutely no experience with women, do you?" I asked, my tone becoming dark.

He gave a bit of nervous laughter and said, "O-of course I do! I mean, I work in a brothel! How could I not-"

"So then, I'm assuming you know that you can't just barrel in right? You've got to stimulate the ladies, because they work just a little bit differently."

"I knew that! I-I was just taking off your corset because it was in my way!"

"Oh? Then what were you going to do?" I asked. I figured if he wasn't good with his hands, his dirty talk would be as bad as his pickup lines.

"I was going… to…"

I smirked. My hand holding his shoulder moved to trace the side of his body, making him squirm beneath me. "This is a brothel, right? So, Boy, what have the men done to you? Or do they just barrel in like the horny dogs they all are?"

"I-I don't-"

I chuckled, moving forward so my mouth was right beside his ear. "Are you uncomfortable?"

"W-what? No, I-"

"You don't like this, do you?"

"No, I-"

I moved back so I was hovering over him, my hands placed beside his head. "I'm a woman who prefers to do things with consent. If you tell me you like it and that you are not uncomfortable, you're giving me the go ahead to do whatever I want to you."

He looked extremely troubled, and I'd decided enough was enough. I started to pull back from him, but in an instant he'd wrapped his arm around my neck and kissed me, holding himself to my lips before collapsing back on the bed.

"Y-you can do… whatever you want."

I smiled. "Perfect."

I got up and held my hand out to him, earning me a confused look but his compliance. I opened a drawer and a look of horror crossed his face, which almost made me laugh. It was a certainly that he thought I was reaching in the drawer beside this one for the really weird shit, but I was actually reaching for a clean sheet.

"Here, hold on to this end and hold still."

"O-okay…?"

I walked around him several times, wrapping the sheet as I went around and around. He had a confused look on his face the entire time, probably assuming it was some weird thing women did. The greatest look of all, though, was when I picked his burrito-like form up and kicked open the door, yelling for my men to hurry up and run before the medusa bitch found out I'd stolen one of her workers.

She heard me, though, and chased us until she tripped over her own heels and crashed on the floor and her prosthetics popped right out of her shirt.

As my crew sent Bonnibelle off I finally released the screaming boy, tossing him on to my bed as I dug in my drawers for some clothes and proper underwear.

"What the hell!? Are you crazy!? You literally just kidnapped me! I can have you arrested!" He was screaming, thrashing beneath his burritoed sheet.

"Yeah yeah." I replied, pulling out the clothes I thought would fit him best. I grabbed the end of the sheet and pulled, making him spin and fall back once more. "Come out and greet the crew when you're changed." I said, closing the door behind me.

When he finally did emerge from my room and out onto the deck he was in the clothes I had given him, the sheet wrapped around his shoulders.

"Ah, there he is!" I exclaimed. "Come here, Boy, sit. I have an offer for you."

"An offer?" He repeated, sitting down hesitantly.

"Yes! How would you like never returning to that brothel again, getting three meals a day, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back completely free?"

He was apprehensive. "What are you getting at?"

"Just hear me out. You can stay on this ship and be a pirate, or we can turn around and return you to that shitty brothel. Or, of neither suit you, we can drop you off at the next port."

He looked me up and down, then scanned the crew. "You want me to join you as a pirate?"

I nodded. "Completely free of charge."

If I remember correctly, later on he told me he was thinking 'I've got nothing left to lose,' so he agreed. He was a little shit for a long time, but when you're trained to believe that as a man you should dominate women, but then being forced to submit to men and being unable to dominate a woman like he was supposed to, it's no wonder he reacted so negatively towards me. But, as his time on the ship progressed and all my feminist ideals let him unlearn all the misogynistic bullshit he'd been forced to learn since childhood and feel that it was okay not to be an alpha.

It didn't take me long to realize that Tyler was extremely sensitive to being touched and teased, so just before I'd been stranded on the Sirius I called an early morning meeting, purposely making sure that Tyler didn't know, and told my crew to knock it off with bullying the rookie and to not put him in headlocks of smack his back as a joke. It made him uncomfortable, and at probably had something to do with why he was working for a brothel. My crew understood and stopped very quickly.

During a fairly intimate conversation between the group during a full moon party Tyler confided in everyone his past, how when he was a child he was orphaned, and a group of thieves took him in. He was a scrawny child, however, and didn't have the guts to rob someone, so the thieves sold him to the highest bidder when he was no older than ten. He worked as a servant for a diplomat in Reiz, but as his 'Master' became more and more sexual he ran away. When he was 12 he was taken in by a gang, the notorious Red Tears.

The Red Tears were Moldor's top dogs, their fingers hooked deep in the black market. They stole from the biggest, and sold for the highest. Not even the navy wanted to go up against them.

Tyler entered when he was 12, and by the time he was 15 he was basically the leader's pet. Do this, do that, yes sir, right away sir. But it was then Tyler met Akiza Yamoto.

Yamoto was the son of the Red Tears leader, and soon became paired with Tyler on missions. They were inseparable from the very start, attached at the hip. It was only natural they fell in love.

Everything was fine for about two years, but as Tyler neared his seventeenth birthday Yamoto was willing to get serious. He was overjoyed, so excited to marry the love of his life, but as they went to ask Yamoto's father for permission, everything went to hell.

Tyler was thrown in a dungeon and had no contact with Yamoto for an entire month, until he came to break him out.

"Let's get out of here and run away together."

They would have made it out and been home free, if only Yamato's father wasn't the most egotistical and prideful man on the planet.

Tyler described it as 'the lifetime that lasted a month'. For that month he and his fiancé were together, touring the country as runaways, having daring adventures and intimate nights, the closest thing they had to a honeymoon.

But, the Red Tears were a gang spread far and many in between. Yamoto was taken and Tyler was beaten almost to death, left to suffer at the hands of death.

It was then he was found and taken care of by a woman, but that turned out to be the medusa bitch. When he had recovered she basically tricked him into working for her, ruining his self-esteem and making him feel guilty because she 'took him off the street and helped him when no one else would' yada yada yada.

But six years later, in the pit of his self-loathing and depression, at the point in his life where he was wondering why the hell he was even alive, I showed up.

Awhile after everyone had gone to bed Tyler had wanted to talk to me, and he told me another reason he decided to join was because I was the first person in his life to ever ask him if he was comfortable, or if he didn't like something. Never in his life had anyone ever bothered to wonder how he felt, and when I said that I wouldn't do anything without his consent, for the first time in his life he felt safe. So that's why he'd told me I could do whatever I wanted, because if he truly didn't want to he knew I'd stop.

"Captain!"

I hadn't been paying attention and I felt something hit me directly on my jaw, cracking it. "Oh shit," I said, my hand moving up to hold it. "You clocked me good kid."

"Captain, are you still holding back?" He asked, lowering his fists.

"I don't think you want me to go all out, Tyler. I'd murder you."

"No, not like that. Are you still doing your best not to touch me?"

My eyes widened a bit. "Well, yeah. You don't like being touched."

His eyes widened too, and he exclaimed, "Are you the one who made everyone stop teasing me when I first joined!?"

"Yeah. You don't like being teased either."

His cheeks flushed a bit and he smiled. "Thank you, Captain, for noticing. It was really bad in the beginning, because the guys would play around way too much. The more frustrated I got, the more they teased. I was just about ready to quit, but then it all stopped, and they even apologized to me."

"I've learned to read people in my life, Tyler. I knew someone just like you. Sue was the spunkiest girl I knew, but any time one of us would walk around barefoot she's just get this look, the same look you'd get. Turns out Sue had her own little thing about feet. I won't get into it though, all you need to know to get it is she's missing one and had to watch it be taken off."

"Oh my god," Tyler breathed, his face turning white.

"But anyway, I'm the kind of person who likes making people happy. Consent is important. It made you uncomfortable and feel bad when the boys did shit like that, so I made them stop. It's the same reason we have signs on doors, because Ian doesn't want to bother anyone when they don't want to be bothered."

"Captain… You really care about all of us, don't you?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I love you guys."

He jumped and hugged me, tears falling from his eyes as he said, "We love you too, Captain. All we want is for you to be happy."

I smiled. "Is it okay for me to hug you back?"

He nodded into my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around his back, chuckling softly at the twenty year old, 5'10 pirate sobbing into my shoulder.

I love these dorks. They're really going to miss me.

But then again, they still don't know just how much better I've gotten at lying.

When he was done crying, I sent Tyler off to have fun with the men in the dining room. It was time for me to retreat into my study and write some more letters.

By the time I emerged it was high noon, and the smell of freshly baked bread filled the air. I was the first in the dining room and was delighted to see Jacob bringing out the plates, Ian following out behind them, and an air of romance around them.

It nearly made me cry when I saw them sit beside each other, as well as Thomas and Russell holding hands upon entry. Oh, my ships were canon! And there was so much love in the air!

All that was ruined, though, when Nathan opened the door, made eye contact with me, and turned right back around.

Oh well, euphoria was fun while it lasted…

I waited until his footsteps were gone before standing outside the door, Mike turning the corner just when I needed him. "Perfect timing!" I said, resting my hand on his shoulder. "I need you to make Nathan go into the dining room. I'm pretty sure he has something to ask Ian."

Mike understood and nodded, walking past the dining room door and turning the same corner Nathan had. The instant I heard, "What the hell!?" I chuckled and made my way back to my study to draft one more letter.

I guess that's how it was going to be.

In the end I actually skipped lunch altogether, as I had fallen asleep at my desk and woke up in the middle of the night. I had no desire to eat, but I didn't really feel like going to sleep again either.

If I had nothing to do, my usual pastime was to train, so that's what I'd planned on doing. But, I bumped into Mike on my way out.

"Perfect timing," He chuckled, "I was just coming to check if you were dead or something."

"At midnight?"

"Well, you see, we kinds broke out the liquor and I need some help moving everyone to their rooms-"

"Yeah yeah, you just deal with our idiots. I'll move the Sirius blockheads." I stopped. "Whose liquor?"

Mike whistled through the gap in his teeth and I said, "Hell, I'm stealing their best liquor. If they want it back they can fight me about it."

He laughed, replying, "Yes, Captain."

I carried the men to their rooms and put them in their beds, covering them with blankets but not bothering with their shoes, coats, weapons, etc. If they wanted me to babysit they'd have to pay me.

"What the hell kind of liquor did you idiots drink to make Morgan pass out?" I asked, throwing him over my shoulder.

"He downed an entire keg of that stuff from your Viking friend."

"Oh my fucking- I told you guys that was supposed to be taken in shots!"

Mike put his hands in the air, saying, "I tried to warn him!"

"I'm definitely stealing his liquor." I mumbled, heading back to the Sirius.

Nathan was the last one and Mike offered to take him, but I sent him to bed. He bade me goodnight and disappeared towards the bedrooms, leaving me with a semi-responsive and extremely trashed Nathan.

"Alright, come on lover boy, let's get you to your room."

"Anna?" He groaned, his feet struggling to find the floor in front of him as I pulled him along.

"Yes, I'm Anna."

"I luhh Anna."

"Yes, I know. You've told me."

"I don wan you tuh leave."

"I know. You've told me that, too."

"I'mm… mad at ya."

"And you have every right to be."

"I jus wanna kiss ya, an hug ya… all the time…"

"If you're going to hug and kiss me, do it when you're sober."

"But… Ahm mad!"

"Then don't kiss me."

"But ah wanna kiss yah!"

I rolled my eyes, opening the door to his bedroom and saying, "I know. Come on now, get in bed."

"Are you… gunna leave?"

"Yes, I'm going back to my ship."

"Don leave!" He exclaimed, reaching out of bed and grabbing my hand.

"Nathan, go to bed. You're drunk."

"Ahm not drunk! Ahm jus mad!"

"Well when you wake up, you won't be mad anymore."

"But... yah gonna leave."

"Yes, so go to sleep."

"Anna!"

"Goodnight, Nathan."

As I opened the door there was a loud thud, and I turned back to see him fallen out of bed.

I sighed and said, "Nathan, get back in bed."

"Don leave, Anna, I luh you!"

"Stop. Come on, go back to bed."

"I wan to kiss you!"

"Nathan-"

"I luh you!"

"Nathan please-"

"Ah wan you!"

"Jesus Christ, that do I have to do to make you stay in bed?"

"I wan you!"

"Want me to do what?"

"No, Annah wan you!"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Ohkay… I wan kiss you."

"If I let you kiss me, will you go to bed?"

"I… I wan hug you…"

"If I let you hug me and give you one kiss, will you go to bed?"

"I wan you… bed with me…"

"No."

"Jus lay… bed wth me…"

"You want me to lay in bed with you?"

"Yes!"

"Jesus, will you go to bed then?"

"Yes! Go right tah sleep, like… like a moose."

I laughed audibly at his choice of words but crawled into bed with him, feeling kind of flustered as he wrapped me in his arms underneath the blankets. Normally I would have just closed the door behind me right after placing him to bed, but I was in love with this guy and he wanted to give me attention after ignoring me? Hell yeah.

He groaned a bit and shuffled, pulling me closer to him and clumsily kissing my forehead. "I luh Anna."

"I love Nathan."

"Can ah kiss Anna?"

"You can kiss Anna."

He shifted again and kissed me, one hand in my hair and the other pulling me closer to him by the waist.

A giggle escaped my lips as I wrapped my arms around him as well, kissing him again and somehow enjoying the bitter taste of alcohol on his lips.

I awoke to a loud thud and the exclamation of, "What the hell!?"

Oh god my back hurt. There was a kink in my neck and my arm was asleep, but as I saw Nathan's face beet red all the way to his ears I smiled.

"Morning."

"A-Anna? What the hell-"

"Alright, things are a bit different this time. You were drunk and wouldn't go to bed unless I was here with you. Then you started whining about wanting to hug me, and that basically became me crawling into bed with you so you would shut up." I got up from the bed, stretching my arms and continuing, "You know, you're really affectionate when you're drunk. But you're mad and probably hungover, so I'll just leave."

"Anna, wait."

"Yes, Nathan?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as my hand rested on the doorknob.

He looked kind of upset, almost reluctant to tell me wat was on the tip of his tongue. "I just… I'm upset because you agreed to marry someone besides me."

I laughed, turning and opening the door. "After all this time, Nathan, it's like you haven't known me a day."

As I headed down the hallway, I could hear his frustrated, "What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

Just as I was about to turn the corner his door flew open, him emerging with balled fists and a knotted brow.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

Oh shit. He was actually pissed. He took it the wrong way, apparent as he stomped his way towards me.

"Babe, listen. There's lots of ways I can go about using this 'betrothal' to my advantage. It's up to you to think of the way it'd cause me the least suffering but most gain."

"Is you promising yourself to another man supposed to not hurt you, even though you love me and I'm standing right in front of you?"

"Well, I must admit I'm a bit irritated. But you know me, Nathan. Things aren't going to go the way they're supposed to. I'm going to force them to go my way."

"Are you going to kill the prince of something?"

I nearly choked. "Nathan, please. I'm not barbaric, and Caiden is a dear friend to me. Rather than killing him there's a variety of other ways I can go about stealing his power. After all, I'm a natural born pirate."

"So then what the hell are you betrothed for?"

"That, my dear Nathan, is the fun part. Having mischievous friends in power who are just as intellectual as you means everyone around you is in for one hell of a plot twist."

"Plot twist?" He repeated.

I pecked his lips and smiled. "Yes. A plot twist."


	19. Chapter 19

"Mike, I feel like shit." I grumbled, my head buried in my arms.

"How so?" He asked, sitting beside me.

"My head hurts, and I feel like I'm gonna puke."

"I'll see if I have something in the sick bay." He replied, getting up and walking out.

"Mmm…"

"Captain, are you alright?" Tyler asked, rubbing my back.

"I probably just caught something. I'll be fine."

"Should I ask Ian to make something?"

I looked at him with wide eyes, realizing this precious child was my very own Thomas. "…Can you ask him to make some tea?"

"Of course." He replied, standing up and walking out.

Mike returned with the medicine just as Ian walked in with freshly brewed tea, the smell bringing in a few stray boys with nothing to do. Eduardo, Russell, Mike and I all played a game of bullshit, which ended with Russell getting pissed off after getting called with only two cards left in his hand, the pile having reached nearly half the deck. He threw a fit and gave us all a good laugh, so the rest of us called it even and ended the game.

The time following was fairly calm, snapping witty insults and laughing together. As I howled, however, I felt a scratch in the back of my throat.

I developed a cough by the evening.

At first it was annoying, having to stop in the middle of my sentence or having to put something down so I could cover my mouth, but as my little coughs evolved into hacking fits I realized I was really getting sick.

A cold at this point would have only been bothersome, so I told myself I wasn't sick and continued on with whatever I had been saying or doing. Mike had eventually roped me in for an examination, however, and sat me down on the bed as he pulled out his tools. I laughed a bit, finding it strikingly familiarity in the situation.

* * *

I was on a mission with my crew in Moldor, doing a pretty risky job trying to invade a diplomat's mansion. It was a success, but two of my men were shot and in desperate need of attention. I was frantic looking for someone willing to help pirates as my other men tried keeping them alive. It didn't help that I was injured as well, a bullet graze slicing my arm and tied shut with a torn cloth.

That's when I ran into a very large man, towering a full five inches over me with a very intimidating appearance.

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush-"

"Miss, are you alright?" He asked, grabbing my uninjured arm.

"O-oh, yes, I'm fine, but would you mind directing me to the nearest clinic willing to treat pirates?"

The man laughed. "You won't find any here, but I wouldn't mind helping."

I grabbed his shirt unconsciously, asking, "Can you treat bullet wounds!?"

"Yes, I've done so before-"

"Please hurry, my mates are dying! Follow me!" I yelled, grabbing his hand and running as fast as I possibly could back to where my mates were.

When we reached them the man did a quick examination, then pulled a small box from his pocket and took out a pair of tweezers, extracting the bullets before stitching up the wounds and tying them up. My mates were able to stand after that, and with no doctor on the ship, I decided to test his skills out for myself.

"Sorry, doc, but would you mind helping me as well?" I asked, removing the cloth from my arm.

"No problem, Miss." He replied, turning to me and stitching up my arm. When he finished I was able to move around fairly well with little discomfort.

"Thank you, sir. If you hadn't helped my mates would have died." I said, thanking him.

"Really, it's no problem. I don't have much else to do."

I looked him up and down, contemplating if it would be a burden to put one more man on my ship. With no particular answer, I just asked the question my crew had been anticipating.

"Say, Doc, would you be interested in joining a pirate crew?"

He was baffled. "A pirate crew?" He echoed.

"Yes, a pirate crew. You get a room all to yourself and three meals a day, and if you're willing maybe even some friends. If that doesn't tickle your fancy we also train in different fighting styles and have an expert in almost every kind of weaponry."

He smiled, revealing an adorable gap tooth as he responded, "I, uh, I've never thought about being a pirate before…"

"Okay, how about we make a bet?"

"A bet? What would the bet be?"

"A fight. If you win you can do whatever you want, but if I win you join my crew."

He jumped. "Wait, your crew? Fight you? Are you a pirate captain, Miss?"

"Captain Annabelle Jones, nice to meet you. So, you wanna take the bet?"

"Well, I always have been a sucker for pretty faces. If you wanna fight, we'll fight."

Four years ago I had been just about as strong as Benny, and Mike was a pretty big guy, so the fight was difficult. He had gone easy on me at first, but as he realized I was a serious opponent he started going all in.

He lacked stamina, however, so after several minutes his attacks and defenses began to deteriorate. I won by punching his gut several times and ending in an uppercut, sending him falling to the ground on his back.

"Well, crew, it looks like we've found ourselves a doctor." I turned to him and held out my hand, asking, "What's your name, Doc?"

"Michael," He said, taking my hand. "Michael Kreason."

* * *

For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep without a blanket since it was so damn hot even under just one sheet. It took me forever to fall asleep, tossing and turning, constantly readjusting pillows, groaning and turning over again. Every time I'd get comfortable I'd get the very same itch in my throat and nearly cough my lungs out, then unable to go to sleep in the comfortable position I'd found.

The next morning I was woken up by the floor and an aching shoulder, having fallen out of bed after flinching from a nightmare. It's not like I wasn't used to nightmares, but it had been awhile since I'd had one. After all, Leywei was dead now.

I entered the dining room still in my pajamas, nothing more than my tank top and a pair of men's boxers. My stomach growled from hunger, demanding I eat more than I had been, but as the delectable smell of bacon filled my nostrils my stomach churned. If not for my strong will I would have thrown up.

"Oh my god, Captain, are you alright?" Benny asked, standing up from his seat.

I tried to say, "I'm fine," but my throat was so congested I had to have a coughing fit first. "'M fine," just barely came out, drowned in a growl.

"You don't look fine." Mike commented, standing up. "Do you want me to get you some more medicine?"

"Don' want any." A.k.a. 'please get me some.'

Mike exited the dining room and Jacob sat me down, pulling a small comb from his sleeve and running it through my tangled hair.

"Are you up for breakfast, Captain?" He asked, gently pulling knots from the mangled locks.

I looked once again at the plate of delicious meat and felt my stomach flip. "I'm good…"

The door opened and I expected to see Mike with my saving grace, but instead I met eyes with Morgan. Eduardo and Thomas were behind him, seemingly entranced by the scent of bacon.

"Holy shit," Eduardo chuckled, looking at me.

"Anna, are you alright? You look awful…" Morgan said.

I poked my tongue from my mouth, my expression turning to a scowl. "Thanks, Morgan." I replied, "I just have a bit of a cold. I'll be fine by tomorrow, maybe the day after at the latest."

Mike returned with the medicine and I drank the disgusting liquid all in one swig, placing the now empty cup on the table as I ran my tongue over my teeth. Reflexively I cleared my throat, but the vibrations I felt were in fact not vibrations at all, rather the feeling to my stomach shoving the medicine meant to calm it down back up my throat.

I don't think I'd ever run so fast in my life. The door hadn't even closed by the time I was at the toilet, hacking up my guts even though I hadn't eaten in the last two days. It was something I hadn't done very often, maybe only once or twice before in my life. To be fair I hadn't really ever gotten sick, so this must have been one of the times I'd make up for my long periods of health. My body liked making itself feel like hell more often than not.

When I finally felt well enough to get up I rinsed my mouth out with water and washed my hands, wiping my sweating brow as I felt my whole body shake. Something was wrong.

The clamor of the morning caused both crews to gather on the deck, those who had been in the dining hall relaying the message 'something's wrong with Anna," to the others.

"If y'all have time to worry about me, hurry up and get started with cleaning. The bathroom is atrocious." I grumbled, my throat scratching at every syllable.

"M-Miss Anna! Are you alright!?" Thomas exclaimed, running up to me.

"'M' fine."

"Captain, you really don't look good. You have dark circles under your eyes." Tyler said.

"It's nothin out of the ordinary, they're always there. Damn things never leave." I rubbed my eyes and turned from the group, walking towards my study. "Eat breakfast without me. I'm not-"

My shoulder hit something, and I took a step back. The wall was closer than I thought it had been.

"I'm not hungry." I continued, being careful to avoid the wall as I continued walking.

At some point, I guess I had fallen asleep because I woke up to the sound of knocking. "Come in." I said hoarsely, the scratching in my throat even worse than it had been.

Christopher opened the door slowly, smiling when he saw my dark circles had gotten just a bit lighter. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"You're fine. I shouldn't be sleeping right now anyway." I replied, looking at the letter I had been drafting.

He set a small bag on my desk, saying, "I just wanted to give you this. It's herbal tea I received in Xesia, said to be very useful in curing disease."

"You shouldn't waste this on me, Christopher. I'm fine, I swear."

"As a doctor, I'm certain you're lying to me."

I looked from him to the bag several times, then sighed. "Alright, fine. Thank you."

He smiled. "It's nothing."

I brewed the tea myself, leaning against the counter as I waited for the water to boil. It was really hot, even in my shorts and tank top. Once the tea was ready and I poured myself some in my favorite teacup. It smelled very forest like as if the leaves brewed were surrounded by dew soaked oak and redwood.

Just as I was about to take a sip my stomach churned again, making me throw up what little food I had snacked on in my study. I pulled away, and a sudden wave of dizziness hit me as I saw vibrant red in the sink.

My cup crashed to the floor and shattered, the teapot screaming as steam shot from the spout. I fell back, reaching for something to save me but my hand grasping air. The floor was cold, the warm light from outside mocking behind closed shutters.

A silhouette flashed before me, and I screamed.

My hands flew to cover my ears, knees shooting up close to my chest as the hoarseness in my throat muffled my screams but pained me as I struggled to let them out. A loud crash sounded beside me, a clacking noise and other grey noise pounding in my ears as my screams tried harder and harder to drown it out, to scare them away, to try and wake myself up.

Hands grasped my shoulders, the grey noise static like as those sharp hands weighed down like boulders. My arms shot out, connecting with them and trying hard to push them back, but the feeling of silky straight hair brushing against my knuckles was warm. Something familiar. It was something I could find solace and comfort in.

My hands felt along their shoulders and rested under their face, the static melting away as tears filled my eyes. The silky hair I had loved for god knows how long, creating the illusion of them I knew was definitely no more than that; an illusion.

It was all I needed, however, as I pulled them close to me in a clinging embrace. "I hate how I'm still having nightmares." I confessed, struggling to talk through my sore throat.

"Anna-"

"Quiet." I pulled myself away from her, looking my precious Andy in the face. I stroked her cheek and gazed for only a second more before turning away. "Please call Benjamin, and have Ian sweep up the shard of glass."

She nodded, then exited the kitchen.

As she walked away I noticed her walk was different, and laughed to myself as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Benjamin took me to my bedroom and laid me in bed without a word, knowing I wouldn't respond to a lecture until I had gotten some sleep. The gesture was wasted, though, as the same process of tossing and turning over and over and over repeated itself, carrying on as I was taken by restless slumber.

I woke sometime in the middle of the night, my stomach repeatedly convulsing as my tired body hurried to wake itself up. In my drowsy state I somehow made it to the bathroom, just barely reaching the toilet before releasing the floodgate.

It wasn't long before I realized being sick took a hell of a lot out of you. I had three more violent upchucking episodes in the next hour, my energy and drive so low I didn't even bother to attempt going back to my room. Even if I had made it I would only toss and turn before needing to struggle all the way back to where I already was.

After the sixth or seventh time my stomach finally calmed down, allowing myself to recharge a bit and stand up. I staggered out to the deck as the warm sunlight poured over my aching body, the sounds of the men heading to breakfast acting as both a blessing and a curse.

I stumbled into the dining room once more, no one but Jacob and Ian inside. Their foreheads were pressed together and they were holding hands, both with an adorable blush on their cheeks. Jacob planted a soft kiss on Ian's forehead, bringing his hands up to cup his face.

I made a smooth retreat, sliding against the wall and sitting down so they could have their moment together.

My mind drifted to something Jacob had told me before, which still made me chuckle.

"Captain, have you ever stopped to think that love is hard for you because you don't want it to work?"

I knew what he was implying was in fact correct, but the conversation was done and over with. My feelings towards Nathan had been confessed and I had gotten more attention than I had hoped for, so now all that was left to do was announce to the Queen I was betrothed and blah blah blah. Caiden and I hadn't planned the betrothal for this purpose, however. In reality it wasn't our idea at all; the thought of marrying each other had never once crossed our minds. It was his parents that had suggested it, and at the time I thought it would have been a perfect escape plan from Nathan.

However, things didn't quite turn out the way I had expected…

In my head, I was going to reject him and say I was going to be married - but it was in name only for the moment. So there was no reason for us not to have at least some time together, therefore making my final goodbye have more actual finality. It was as I had said before, telling him I loved him and letting him get a taste, but rejecting a relationship and cutting all contact.

It was the only way to make him give up.

On the one hand being married to Caiden would grant me indispensable power in my new life, allowing me to do everything I needed to rebuild Reiz into a prosperous kingdom. But, on the other hand, I would have to sacrifice the relationships from my pirate life and dedicate myself to becoming a full-time royal to follow all the way through. If I was still contacting my or the Sirius crew, especially Nathan, I'd probably tell them to 'steal me away' before my plans were completed.

"Captain?"

I jumped a little and turned to face the voice.

"What are you doing sitting outside? Breakfast is ready." Jacob said, holding his hand out for me.

I smiled and took it, pulling myself up and following him into the dining room. The men filed in once after the other soon after, all taking their seats as Ian and Jacob brought in the plates. My stomach growled but churned at the sight of delicious, golden and fluffy pancakes. It was an actual struggle, knowing that if I ate even one bite my stomach would give me hell for it.

Ian, however, had anticipated my stomach being difficult and had prepared some soup just for me.

I shit you not, I nearly cried.

Luckily my stomach accepted the soup but rejected the thought of a second bowl, so I kindly refused and gave Ian a big hug for taking care of me.

A little before lunchtime rolled around I wandered over to the Sirius, sitting in with Thomas and Russell as they practiced sparring with a single blade. Thomas had taken my advice and asked Russell for training two long years ago, and the results really showed. He had gotten a lot stronger and his movements were much faster. Russell had improved as well, also taking my advice and cutting down on his wasted movements.

After a while I got bored, so as I was looking for something to do I ended up on the deck. I roamed aimlessly among the cargo, my thoughts not going in any particular direction until I felt a slight pain on my shin.

It had hit a box, standing on its own as there was nowhere else for it to fit. My eyes looked at it, but as they tried to focus it seemed to get smaller and smaller. The instant I realized what was happening I felt faint, stumbling back as I struggled to stay conscious. It was futile, because as I tried to right myself from falling back I ended up face first on the Sirius deck, out cold.

I woke up underneath far too many blankets, sweating like a damn dog. I threw them off of me, moving to sit up as cloudy and muddled thoughts tried to make sense of themselves.

"Anna, please lie back down. You have a high fever and you're dehydrated, as well as intense exhaustion and stress. Your body is punishing you."

"Yeah, it's one of those times." I grumbled, "It happens every now and then."

"So take this rare chance to rest." Christopher replied.

I groaned a reply as I swung my legs over the side of the infirmary bed, sitting up. "I don't have time to rest. In a couple days I'll be fine, but in a couple days, we'll be closer to Moldor. Therefore I'll be a couple days behind. No thank you." I said

"Anna, please. For once in your life just take some time for yourself." He said, setting his beakers down as I made my way to the door.

"I'm always thinking of myself, Christopher. That's why I'm here today."

He stood in front of the door, extending his arm so it rested against the doorframe. "Listen to me. You need to rest, or this will become something much more serious."

"Are you being serious, or are you just trying to scare me?"

Doc's brows drew in slightly closer.

"Oh, I see. But at this point, it's already too late."

"What do you mean? You've just started showing symptoms!"

"I haven't been eating or sleeping properly since my almost assassination, Doc. The stress was literally killing me. Now what you're implying might just do it." I turned my face away from him and said, "Besides... I saw Andy."

"Anna, why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"There wasn't blood until yesterday. Then I realized it was already too late." I sat back on the infirmary bed and continued, "It's okay, though. I always have a backup plan. I'll just send the official letter to Caiden, and let him know I caught influenza. Just the letter will make the queen declare war on Moldor, so all he has to do is rely on an army instead of me to storm the castle and seize power."

"That's enough. It might not be influenza."

"That was a nasty lie."

"You know I'm not lying."

"No one survives influenza. You should know that, as a doctor."

He laughed. "For someone like you, influenza isn't anything major."

"Don't overestimate me, Christopher. I didn't plan on this little cough turning into influenza."

"You have a prince waiting for you, right? And a country to save?"

"I just told you about my backup plan. There's no need for me at this point if Caiden is willing to lie."

He bit his lip and turned away from me, asking, "Do you still have the tea I gave you?"

"It's still in the kitchen."

"I'll go have Nathan brew some, so the disease doesn't spread."

"Good call, Doc." I replied, turning on my side to face the wall. Several moments of silence passed, and as I stretched out on the bed I whispered, "I want to see him."

"See who?"

I moved my arm and saw Nathan standing in the doorway, two cups in his hands.

"Speak of the devil and he will come. I was talking about you." I replied, sitting up and accepting the cup.

He grabbed my arm as I moved away, pulling it with little effort as I tried to snatch it back. His facial expression appeared upset and angry, his arm clutching my wrist with excessive force.

"Nathan, you're hurting me-"

"Why are you so thin? How long have you been skipping out on meals?"

"I don't… eat much anyway."

"Stop lying to me, Anna!"

I sighed, setting the teacup down and looking Nathan in the eyes. "I hadn't anticipated this, but I've been waiting for it to happen to someone. Listen to me and listen well, I had never wanted things to take this course. I planned for it of course and kept many things secret because of it, but now that it's reality I'm going to tell you straight."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Christopher will tell you it's not true, but I have influenza."

"Influenza? Are you serious?"

"At this point, I don't have any reason to lie about it. There's too much at stake."

Nathan turned and stormed away, throwing the door closed behind him. His footsteps stopped, however, and after the ruffling of fabric I heard his furious voice ask, "Doc, is she going to die?"

"What did she say to you?" Christopher asked, his voice blanketing panic.

"Is it true she has influenza?"

Christopher sighed. "If I don't start treating her now, she might contract it. But since I caught it now, it's not extremely likely."

Nathan's footsteps stomped away a moment later.

Christopher walking in with a scowl on his face and I sipped my tea, averting my eyes and saying, "You see this wall, Doc? It's a nice, sturdy wall."

"Anna, what were you thinking telling Nathan? It's obvious he's upset now."

I laughed a bit. "You know, the whole time I've been romancing him, no one has ever stopped and thought about how I feel. It's only about how I hurt his feelings because I'm not comfortable being in a relationship yet. Has anyone asked me that? Has anyone bothered to consider the position I'm in and how being with Nathan would affect me? No."

Christopher's eyes went wide as he realized I was genuinely upset about it. He asked, "Well, how do you feel?"

I laid back down and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't want to hurt him, but there are things I have to do. When everything has been said and done, if he still loves me and I still love him, I'll gladly run back to his arms. But I can't guarantee I'll stay. In my life love was the first thing, but this bitterness and hatred I feel after having that taken, I never want anyone to feel that way because of me. So I just put a stop to it before there's the chance."

"So you don't want to be with him because you know it will only hurt him?"

"Yes. Because of who I am and what I do, I can't drag someone around with me. That would be too dangerous, and no matter how much I try to protect them they will get killed. Just look at me, I've barely survived. But, at the same time, my morals and desire for continuous challenges means I can't stop and settle down. I have to keep moving, but no one will ever be capable of following me."

"Anna…"

"I do love him. I love him a lot, more than I can bear, but that's dangerous. I refuse to see another I love get murdered because I love them. People will always use underhanded tricks like that, so I'll just keep anyone I love an arm's length away."

Christopher didn't know what to say. It's not like I wanted him to say anything anyway.

Dantalion returned the next day carrying multiple response letters from my seconds-in-command, and by then I had been transported to the Bonnibelle infirmary. I read over them quickly, noting the information but not treating it as a priority. My first step to making sure everything went smoothly was to send the letter of betrothal back to Caiden. Without anyone's knowledge, I went through with my plans and sent the letter out when they were asleep. It explained to him I caught influenza and needed him to carry on the mission alone, only lying until the war was over. Along with the letter was the official document of betrothal, as well as my plan written out in detail. All he would have to do is show up and declare before the Queen he was betrothed, therefore the pact the two kingdoms created was now void.

Then the war would start.

The old, hotheaded queen would definitely make a scene at the meeting and may declare war to his face, but Caiden was smart. He would know to withdraw and storm the castle with the royal guard at a later date, and depending on the situation the Queen may or may not die. Under any circumstance he would claim Reiz, now under the power of Moldor, and follow my rough guidelines to rebuilding the country to what is was before the King died.

By my second night in the Bonnibelle infirmary, my throat became so sore and congested. Any time I tried to talk I sounded like a cancer-stricken old man. Because of the discomfort it caused and the increase of coughing up blood fits, I talked significantly less. The only times I would speak would be two or three words telling Mike or Christopher something they needed to know to try and cure me before it was too late, but by the third night, I was completely unable to speak.

The time I spent alone was excruciating. The only thing I could do was draft letters and attempt to finish my novel, writing down every single detail as things got worse and worse, reporting how my toes started to grow numb and the bones from my ribs jutted out from my skin. Even looking at my hands made me sick, every movement of every bone visible as I scratched my quill across the parchment.

I drafted letters to all the men, as well as the captains who were there the night I killed Leywei and the one shitty navigator on Theon's ship.

In Stewart's letter, I reminisced about the past, somewhat nostalgic but mostly pissed off, talking about how I was grateful for him giving me my start but I was determined when I told him I would never take an order from him again. I criticized his shitty treatment of me just because I was a woman, how his abuse and sexualization, constant belittling of me fucked me up a bit, but it made me mentally stronger. If not for me meeting Andy again I probably would have died or become somewhat of a lover to Stewart, which made me shudder. He was nearly ten years older than Morgan, in his mid-fifties, and he'd been fucked up a long long time ago. I understood why he treated me the way he did, but if he even thought about pulling the same shit I would probably kill him without a second thought.

My council I addressed with more formality, thanking them for wishing to fight at my side and being a guide in my rule of the pirates. I left them with my wish being for Morgan to reclaim the Pirate King title, and addressed than in his letter were my final wishes.

To those such as Virk and Regan, I expressed my gratitude for traveling to far to fight for me, and in turn gave them several treasure maps to sites I had looted before. I explained what traps to avoid and what types of treasure remained.

Alan's letter was mostly rambling, somewhat apologetic and somewhat rude, mostly just confused, but in any case, his letter did address how I was grateful to him and how I admired him for being the type of person he was. Since he was in my council there was my tone of formality, but overall the letter was a mess. There wasn't any way to have fit everything together and make sense in a way that flowed well and reflected what I wanted to say.

For The Sirius crew, my letters were only slightly sappy.

To Russell I wished him well in his relationship with Thomas, praising him for training him well and making him even happier than he had been before. I asked him to work on expressing himself and learning to listen because Thomas was someone who truly had strong feelings for him, and wished him nothing but happiness in his life. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and worthy opponent in the swordsman world.

To Eduardo, I made sure to add in snarky comments and only addressed him as Eddy, guaranteeing his irritation. I told him to at least try and relax every once in awhile, and also told him if he continued to be an asshole I'd come back from the grave and kick his ass. I thanked him for dealing with my witty humor and letting me be a bit rude sometimes, even though he might have taken offense to a thing or two I'd said. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone who, if I was to drink alcohol, have a drink with.

To Christopher, I asked for him to not blame himself for my death. Influenza may have been a lame way to die, but the shape my body had been in made it a perfect host for a disease of such magnitude to completely wipe out in less than a week and a half. I thanked him for the tea and the kindness he never once failed to greet me with, no matter how lost I had been or how irrational I had acted. I left with him the location of my own medical journals and notes collected from around the world, as well as contact Sue's family hospital. I asked for him to share his medical research with them. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and a very talented medical professional.

To Morgan, I asked him to take the Pirate King title upon my death and to close the negotiations surrounding the pirate and navy relations, and to bring peace in that aspect of the world. I asked for him to take the council and the pirate world to a peaceful and prosperous place as I had planned. As I began to ramble upon the past I felt grateful for his presence as a friend, someone who knew the struggles of being a captain and was always up for a talk about how the world worked or simple chatter. Even though he was a raging alcoholic I truly enjoyed his company and wished for him to show his men the world didn't need to be such a terrible place. I asked for him to let those boys know they always had a home aboard his ship, and to act as a guide in their quests for redemption and happiness. In an almost ironic way, I asked him to follow the pirate's path as I would have, willing to take risks and face danger until those boys were willing to become men. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone who was destined for even greater things than I.

To Thomas I said thank you more times than I could count, thanking him for his smile, his kindness, his concern, thanking him for always looking out for me and worrying about me, for being such a wonderful little cupcake I would not hesitate to protect with my life. I wished him nothing but happiness in his life, wishing for him to stay with Russell through thick and thin and to not miss me, to not ever be sad because I died. I wished for him to become close with his brother and become the wonderful man I always knew he would be. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I felt to be a younger brother.

To Nathan, my letter had tear stains as the quill shakily scratched the paper. Thank you, I'm sorry, I love you, thank you, I'm sorry, I love you, thank you, I'm sorry, I love you, over and over and over again as I poured my heart out and told him everything I had wanted to say, apologizing for the hurt he would feel upon my death and apologizing again for planning to hurt him, but in the same sentence I had the audacity to beg forgiveness as I explained for the umpteenth time why. I thanked him for letting me love again but cursed him for it, thanked him for letting me feel happy without Andy but cursed him once more, thanked him for being mad at me at the very end so I wouldn't have to see a smiling face as the end drew closer and closer. My love had poured onto the paper through the tears, begging for him to please just forget about me and the love he had felt. I wished and wished for his happiness, for him to break the chain and to not become as I had once been. I begged and pleaded for him to please never remember any of the times we shared as my time with him had been but a small portion of his life, one he would surely not miss in the grand scheme of his entire lifetime. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I would have taken as a lifelong partner had circumstances been different.

The letters to my crew were excessively long and had the feeling of a mother bidding farewell to her children, but in reality, that's what I was. I was saying goodbye to the boys I had fostered and put them on a path all their own.

To Mike, I also asked him not to blame himself for my death. I told him it was already far too late from the very beginning. I asked for him to please not dwell on it and continue to advance his research, as well as look after the idiots on the ship. I asked him to visit his family back in Moldor and invite them to the funeral if they wanted to go. I asked for him to be the captain of Bonnibelle since Benjamin would become a complete and utter wreck for however long after. Once Benny was better, if Mike so wished, he could trade positions and give Benny the title of Captain. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I was eternally grateful to.

To Jacob, I asked for him to be patient with Ian for the time after my death, as he would shut down for a long time and seem cold and unaffectionate. It was his way of coping, and in order for him to heal I begged for Jacob not to abandon him in such a crucial time. In his years on the ship, he'd definitely learned to maneuver around Ian's ways of expression, but he hadn't been very observant or conscious of him when he first joined. He'd broken out of his shell along with Ian, as they joined within two months of each other. I asked him to keep in contact with his precious little brother as they were walking the same path in love and would encounter many of the same struggles. I wished for him to be strong in the wake of my death and do not dwell on it, to please move on and continue with his life. He was a boy deserving of becoming a man, but if he became stuck in the past he would never accomplish what he wished to do. I thanked him for being the sweet boy he is and taking care of me the past five years, and I wished him happiness in his relationship with Ian. I also wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I thought of as my own brother.

To Tyler, I wrote about how much he had changed in two short years. I apologized for not being with him for most of it, but I wished for him to know I intended for the Bonnibelle to be a home for him. Somewhere he felt safe and loved, somewhere he was relevant and was surrounded by people who cared about him. I wrote about the tears clouding in my eyes as I looked at the brightness in his eyes and the smiles he wore every day, compared to the boy I had met in a brothel. I wished to be able to hug him and tell him I was so happy for him, that all I wished was for him to be happy in his life. I begged for him to please not let his happiness go once I passed, and for him to realize there are more people like me in the world. I asked him to look around at the people in his crew, people who never wished to harm him in any way, people who loved and genuinely cared for him. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I thought of as my own son.

To Ian, I wrote the longest apology letter I'd ever written. I apologized for dying, for lying, for leaving and for trying to convince him I was okay, therefore lying, and attempting to console him before my life was over. I apologized for all the times I had ever made him upset before then, but as my apologies ran out I thanked him for many, many things. I thanked him for loving me and for always making sure I had eaten, for remembering my favorite foods and making them when I was upset. I thanked him for caring about me and never being ashamed to hold my hand. Again and again, I thanked him for staying with me on my ship and never once complaining but rather being on my side most of the time. I begged for him to please not shut Jacob out as the boy loved him more than anything in the world, and I asked him to please not be sad about my death but rather be happy I wasn't still suffering. I wished he would find happiness in his love for Jacob and for the relationship to prosper, blooming a love as deep and meaningful as those told in storybooks. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I would have loved to hold in my arms just one more time.

To Benjamin, I asked for him to realize I was dead meat from the very beginning. One of my ridiculous schemes was bound to get me killed and it was pretty lame influenza was what finally killed me, but if not influenza something later down the road would have definitely nicked my life short. There was nothing he could do to prevent it no matter how hard he tried, but I thanked him for always looking out for me and wanting the best for me. I thanked him for loving me and for treating me with respect. I thanked him for all the times he'd saved my ass and for sticking with me for four whole years without dying. I thanked him for never leaving and for caring about me. I apologized for dying and leaving him alone with the crew, but I begged him to carry on in my absence. I told him he was my first mate for a reason, and it was not the job I had entrusted to him to look after the crew. I made sure to let him know I'd given the title to Mike so he could mourn a little bit, and when he was ready he could take the title for himself. I asked him to please look out for my boys and for himself. They would need each other and needed to stick together. It was going to be hard, but without me, all of them could only grow stronger. I knew I couldn't force them to move on, I was dead, but in those two years alone they had already taken the first step. They didn't need me anymore. I wished for him to know I loved him as a dear friend and someone I had trusted with my life.

As time passed I began hallucinating, but I was smart enough to keep myself from letting anyone know. I began coughing more severely and more frequently, blood coming up several times. When I threw up there was more blood than before, no matter what kind of food I ate.

It was difficult to remember what had happened. I could recall everyone visiting more often than they should have, draining the herbal tea supply since they would have to drink it after every visit. Christopher's stockpile became scarce, making everyone's visiting time decline drastically. I was typically alone, unless Christopher or Mike came to give me some new form of treatment.

I was so tired. Hours and hours and hours going by, days slipping past me like seconds until it finally hit me.

With all the strength I had, I folded my hands, lacing my fingers but pressing my pointers together. Silently I mouthed ancient words, pouring all the strength I had left in my soul into this one final protection charm over both ships, and all those on it.

When I finished I sighed, feeling all the tension leave my body as it started to grow numb.

"C…Christopher…" I breathed, trying hard to keep my heart beating.

He turned to me, his eyes wide with shock that I was speaking, but also drooping with fatigue. "Yes, Anna, what is it?"

I turned my head to face him and smiled weakly. "Bye bye."

"W…Wait… No, Anna, wait!"

I took a breath and closed my eyes, relaxing as the cold hands of death traced up my back.

"No! Anna!"

Bye bye…

When I opened my eyes I was in the infirmary, standing in the corner. Christopher was screaming, tears in his eyes, but as his hands grabbed someone's shoulders his words ceased. He pulled back, standing tall, and put the blanket over their face.

He exited the infirmary and I followed him, but as I went to take my first step I just kind of slid. I was confused, but as the door closed I realized I was being left behind.

When I caught up to Christopher he was opening the door to the dining room, his crew in there as well. Mike, I noticed, was asleep at the table.

"Christopher? What are you doing?" Morgan asked, looking up from his bottle of rum.

Christopher swallowed, tears forming in his eyes once again. "Anna… Anna didn't make it."

Everyone kind of froze and tears formed in their eyes.

"You're… You're joking." Nathan said blankly, trying to laugh as if it were a joke.

Christopher swallowed, tears leaking out of his eyes as he looked away. "This time, she's not coming back."

Nathan jumped out of his seat and ran straight for the infirmary, tears falling from his eyes as he threw open the door and met nothing more than a covered corpse.

His heart dropped, and on shaky legs, he walked over to the side of the bed. There was no rise and fall beneath the blanket, and there was no warmth coming from the body. With a shaky hand, he pulled back the blanket, my face becoming exposed.

Looking at myself I could see just how terrible I really looked. I was basically a skeleton with bags under their eye sockets.

A cold hand weighed down on my shoulder and turned to see Death.

"Hello again, Annabelle."

"Hello, Death."

She smiled, her black lined lips accenting pointed teeth. Her skin was pale but gave off a violet glow, apparent around her outline. She had silky black hair, stretching all the way to the floor and fading into the mist at her feet beneath her robes. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost." I said, turning back to the corpse. I grabbed Nathan's hand slowly, gently guiding it to the pillow beside my head. He then noticed the letters I left for everyone, and I kissed his lips with my cold ones. "Bye bye. I love you."

"Anna?" He called, turning but not seeing me.

"Bye bye…" I said again, taking Death's hand.

I don't know of it was some cruel twist of fate, but as I felt myself fade into the afterlife, Nathan's eyes met mine.

"Anna!" He screamed, lunging for me, but going straight through my intangible soul.

Then I was gone.


	20. Chapter 20

Death pulled on my hand, leading me through a hallway. The floors were made of black polished marble and the walls were painted black as well, the ceiling being of a cave with stalactites hanging ominously. The hall smelled of a damp cave rich with mineral water and cold air.

"You've evaded me many times, Annabelle, but I've finally got you." Death said. "I'll never forget the struggle it took to capture you."

I laughed a bit. "You used a dirty trick, making me look lame after all I've been through to let influenza get me." As I was pulled I felt the weight of my mortal body being stripped away, the fatigue of the illness disappearing.

She laughed as well. "I'm an impatient woman, just as you are." We stopped before a dark violet door, the handle curved and very aesthetically pleasing. "Everyone is here. They'll be happy to catch up."

"Is… Andy-?"

Death smiled. "Your beloved wife is waiting for you."

The door opened and I was almost blinded by brilliant light, but as I adjusted to it, I saw them.

Maya, Sue, Betty, Taylor, Leywei, Nickolas, and all my other crewmembers stood facing me, waiting with smiles on their faces.

But there was someone in front of them. She had straight black hair, olive toned skin, and dazzling purple eyes.

It was Andy.

I smiled. "I've missed you."

Andy smiled back. "I've missed you, too."

She stepped towards me and hugged me gently, taking a deep breath as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. After several moments she pulled back slightly, tilting her chin as she let me kiss her.

I rested my forehead against hers and said, "You know, Andy, I really did love you."

She giggled. "But you love him now."

I smiled again, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. "Yes, I do."

"Look, you can see them." She said, stepping away from me and waving her hand in a sweeping motion.

The space beside everyone turned to a large screen, and I watched as Nathan was slamming his fist against the floor, screaming my name and asking me to come back. Screaming he was sorry, and if I came back he wouldn't be mad anymore.

"He loves you very much."

I smiled sadly. "I know."

"I just hope he doesn't end up like you."

I laughed. "He will. There's no stopping it now."

My girls were extremely interested in their families. Maya still couldn't believe her family's fighting style now had a following of over one million. Taylor was so happy for her parents finally turning their little abandoned hotel on the mountain into a wildly popular hot spring resort. Sue was overjoyed her parents now owned a major hospital leading in disease research. Betty literally jumped for joy watching her parents work in an upscale bakery and cater the royal family's events.

Leywei talked with me about the past and complimented Andy, saying she must have been special to earn such a passionate and committed love from me. It made her blush.

My crew and former enemy talked with me about many things besides the past; sometimes about death and how she calms the soul. As I spent time with everyone I could see it for myself, how there was no war. She emphasized patience, and kept things tranquil.

Death met with me hours later and bestowed upon me a set of keys, telling me because of the things I had done in my life I'd earned the rights to enter gathering places for people, and I was free to travel about whenever I pleased. There were many different keys and I travelled many different places, expanding my knowledge of history and culture like I had never dreamed I would.

Somehow I had earned myself a spot in the 'Influential Leaders' room, and I nearly shit myself looking at the people inside. Cleopatra, King Tutankhamun, Alexander the Great, Plato, Julius Ceasar, Joan of Arc, the Yongle Emperor, Johannes Gutenberg, Mehmed II, Zheng He, Pachacuti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Jiao Yu, Liu Bowen, Timur the Lame (who actually wasn't really lame), Ottokar II, Marco Polo, King Louis IX, Kublai Khan, Genghis Kahn, Queen Tamar, Saladin, Constantine, Li Jiqian, Emperor Sanjō, and many, many, many others.

I couldn't help but turn back to the screen. Watching Caiden and the two crews was something far too interesting, and it made me feel tied to them. Caiden sent back a letter, asking the crew for me to be buried in Moldor the day before the Queen's meeting.

"Anna, can I talk to you?" Andy whispered, sitting beside me.

"Of course." I replied, turning to her.

"The chief, he placed a protection charm on you, right?"

"Yes, after he placed the one on your graves."

Andy's eyes widened. "Anna, do you remember how to place protection charms?"

"Yes. I placed one on the ships and everyone on them before Death brought me here."

Andy grabbed my hands, her face pale. "Anna, do you know what this means?"

I met her eyes. "No, what?"

"You remember talking to the girls and me on the island, right?"

"Yeah, I talked to your souls-"

"We were able to transport through the protection charm."

"…What are you saying?"

"Our souls were able to be transported to the mortal world through the protection charm. But the thing is, we don't know how to create them. Without one here there wasn't a complete portal, so our souls couldn't jump to the next world. But you, Anna, you have a protection charm on your body."

My eyes went wide. "I… I can use my one chance to return my soul to my body…"

"If we can distract Death, you can come back to life."

"But… Then I'll leave you here alone for god knows how long."

"Anna, listen to me. I'm stuck here for eternity, and you'll definitely come back here one day. But Nathan? He's stuck there for the rest of his life. Do you really want to wait how many ever years for him, and let him go through so much despair? And, you said it yourself. You have a country to save."

I squeezed her hands and kissed them. "This is why I loved you, Andy. You were the most adventurous person I'd ever known."

She smiled and kissed my forehead. "Are you in?"

I nodded. "Let's do it."

The first step was getting everyone in on the plan without Death finding out, then figuring out how to occupy her long enough for me to place a protection charm as well as actually transport through worlds, then keeping her away long enough to let the portal close.

It wasn't going to be the easiest thing, but it was the most Annabelle Jones way of doing things.

We decided on the day of my funeral, because it was the most suspenseful and would make the biggest scene. Also by then the majority of the infection in my body would be gone, so I could crash the meeting with the queen the day after duping Death herself.

It took two hours, or, in the real world, half a day, to figure out the specifics in the 'Influential Leaders' room and to relay the message to everyone else. When the day finally came we met a few hours before to discuss the plan once more before returning to our respective rooms.

Death was sleeping and had been for several hours, which meant she was in the deepest part of her slumber. She would be disoriented when she woke up, buying me some extra time.

Leywei and a couple of old crewmembers snuck out into the hallway, ready with matches as past assassins and spies snuck into Death's room. They tied her down with chains and cloth, careful not to wake her, everyone waiting at their doors for my signal. Blacksmiths changed locks on doors as carpenters switched signs, an act to buy just a little more time in the grand scheme of things. Artisans and sculptors created pieces for the floor, having painters use perspective painting to make them look like they belonged there. When Death would step on one it would break, trapping her foot or buying one more second as she tripped.

Once the ships docked at the Moldarian port, it was go time.

Leywei and the other crewmembers started fires, others fanning the flames and causing smoke to fill the corridor. Once it was thick enough for cover everyone hid in various places hidden by sculptures, holding nets with weights or ready to stick out their foot. One pyromaniac had replicated firecrackers, which would definitely buy some time.

I muttered the words under my breath as swiftly as I could, the words rolling off my tongue like they were my mother language.

An inhuman scream sounded as there was loud clanging far off, signaling that Death had awoken.

I spoke even faster, my cold heart pumping faster and faster and faster as I spat complex words without a single slip up. My eyes turned over to the screen, seeing myself in an open casket only displaying my face. I could see a faint glow beneath my shirt, but from the angle the audience was placed as the priest finished up no one could see. It was working.

" E!"

A loud slam echoing through the hall alerted me she had broken down her bedroom door. In a time faster than I had ever done before the charm was placed, and it began to glow.

"Anna, go!" Andy yelled, holding the door closed.

I took a deep breath and jumped, hearing Death's inhuman screeching as the cracking of porcelain sounded. I soared through layers of emotion and the fabric of time, my memories of life refreshing themselves as I got closer to the first level of leaving the afterlife.

Another inhuman screech sounded, letting me know she'd been caught in the first net.

Weight then strapped itself onto my soul, preparing me for the weight of an actual body and all the hardships it would go through.

Another crack of porcelain and the sound of firecrackers, her inhuman screeching reaching a new pitch as she shrieked. My heart began to feel warm, the center of my soul feeling less numb as I reached the fabric dividing the two worlds.

Another crash and shriek, the second net had been placed as she cursed the entire afterlife for working against her.

As I reached the fabric my lungs filled with air, the feeling of my heart pumping reaching the veins all the way to the tips of my fingers. I was starting to live again. Once again firecrackers cackled as a flash bomb and a screamer were lit, causing Death to crash down on one of the sculptures.

Two whole minutes had passed since the beginning of the operation, which meant about thirty minutes had passed in the real world. I had to hurry, or else I'd be six feet under just as I reached the mortal world.

Once I passed the fabric I moved much faster, feeling rushing through my body as my nerves tingled. I wiggled my toes and fingers, swishing my tongue around in my dry mouth as my eyes looked at no more than my eyelids, the vision becoming apparent through my soul's eyes. My breathing was shallow, I made sure so no one would hear or see as they bid my corpse farewell.

A scream sounded from just outside the door, a loud bang slamming against it. Death was outside, and she was pissed.

"Anna, keep going! We can handle her!" Andy yelled, still holding the door closed.

I was determined. Faster and faster I reached the mortal world, sound and scents filling my mind as the texture of fabric rubbed against my skin, the muffled sound of crying as someone I was almost certain to be Caiden said their farewells to me.

A shriek erupted in the room and a wave of power swept over, demonic shrieking getting louder and louder and louder until-

"Anna!"

I looked behind me and met Death's demonic eyes, her hand stretching out to grab my ankle. Without hesitation I kicked her right in the face, using enough force to send her all the way back to the afterlife.

She shrieked once more threatening to re-enter at unprecedented speed using the momentum from her fall, but before she could re-enter the portal Andy tackled her.

"Go, Anna, go!"

"I'LL HAVE YOU ONE DAY, ANNABELLE, AND WHEN I DO, YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE ME!" Death screamed, the portal becoming smaller.

"Good luck trying, Mate!" I called back, feeling my soul blend with my body as it fitted itself. I laid down and closed my eyes, a wave of pins and needles washing over me as if my entire body had just woken up from being asleep.

It took me a minute to remember I had to breathe, but once I remembered I only had to wiggle around a bit more to get a feel of how my body worked. All of a sudden there was a loud pounding noise and was afraid Death had caught up to me, but I realized they were only hammering my casket shut. It was almost time.

The last nail was hammered and the casket was placed, about to be lowered and buried six feet under.

"If there are no more words to be said, we'll lower the casket." I heard Caiden say.

There were several seconds of nothing but the sound of crying, and I got ready.

The casket shifted and I moved my leg to kick, but the instant I moved my entire body began to glow as the protection charm outgrew the casket. I was already in motion, however, so as my body glowed I kicked the top off with only one foot, jumping out and flipping over as to land on my feet before the lid I had kicked seconds prior hit the ground.

As the glow faded from my body and I stood tall, my body no longer diseased and malnourished but rather replenished to its peak condition by the magic of the protection charm. "Sorry Christopher, but I did come back again. I can't die yet."

There was nothing but silence as I surveyed the faces surrounding me, eyes peeled wide and mouths agape.

"C… Captain…?"

My eyes met Tyler's and my shoulders drooped, my body walking over to him and enveloping him in a soft embrace. Tears fell from my eyes as I said, "You have no idea what it means to me knowing I get to hug you again, Tyler."

"Captain… Captain!" He screamed, throwing his arms around me as big tears poured from his eyes.

The number of times I was tackled in the next hour exceeded even my mathematical counting ability, and the tears we shed were bountiful enough to make the African Sahara a new ocean.

"Annabelle, how are you alive?" Caiden asked, placing his hands on my shoulders as he pulled away from a hug. "I knew you were strong, but do you possess the power to make your heart stop beating and to hold your breath for hours on end?"

"No, I was actually dead. In mortal time it was about three days, but in my time it was about twelve hours."

"Wait, time is different in the afterlife?"

"Yes. When you have eternity, things tend to go a little bit faster."

"So you were really dead?" Thomas asked, standing slightly off to the side.

"Yes, fucking influenza killed me. But, with the help of a hell of a lot of dead people, my wife's idea let me escape from Death and now be here with everyone once again. Let me tell you, she was pissed. Would you like me to tell you about it?"

"Yes! I want to know everything!"

"Alright, so before I even start I want to tell you about this pyromaniac from the seventh century Tang Dynasty who invented fireworks…"

For hours I talked. About the afterlife, the conversations I had with such inspirational leaders, everything from Death herself to what kind of person King Tut was. That evening everyone headed to their hotel rooms booked several days in advance by letter, but as I went to my own room I was pulled into another.

The door closed and a pair of arms were wrapped around me, holding me tightly from behind as their owner trembled. He was hunched over, his extra six inches of height giving his body all the space it needed to envelop me like a blanket.

"Well, I see somebody missed me."

I was spun around and a pair of lips covered mine, his arms holding me as if I would disappear if they let me go. I stumbled backwards, falling onto a mattress as the person hovered above me, his hands running along the sides of my body. He kissed me ferociously, nipping my lips with his teeth as his hands held my hips.

I pushed him back in a slight panic, my heart beating like crazy as my cheeks burned red. I sat up and held him an arm's length away, giving myself enough room to breathe. "Whoa, buddy, take it down a few notches."

Several seconds passed and I listened to our heavy breathing until something dropped on to the blanket in front of me.

"I…" He choked, his voice hardly coming out at all, "I seriously thought you were gone…"

"I was. I wasn't supposed to come back."

He wrapped his arms around my back, his head nuzzled in the crook of my neck as tears fell from his eyes onto my shoulder. His whole body trembled and it wasn't hard to tell he was seriously hurting.

I hugged him back and twirled my finger around in his hair, saying, "I knew you were gonna do something like this when you didn't hug me earlier."

He held me even tighter. "If I had touched you then, I wouldn't have been able to hold back."

I laughed. "You should have, it would've been hilarious. Caiden would have-"

"Don't talk about him." He snapped. "…Please."

I smiled, closing my eyes. "Right. Let's not talk about that just yet."

"Am I… am I really going to have to let you marry someone else? I lost you once, Anna. I can't take the thought of losing you again."

I sighed. "Even after I die you don't get it? Well, I'll just have to explain to you now." In one fluid movement I pinned his shoulder down and sat on top of him, my lips hovering just above his.

"I want you to come to my wedding, Nathan."

…

I lied in Nathan's bed looking up at the ceiling, listening to his deep breathing as I waited for drowsiness to hit me. I took a deep breath, the feeling of my lungs moving still something I was getting used to. A smile graced my lips as I placed a hand over my chest, remembering the protection charm placed on me all those years ago.

"Thank you, everyone, for helping me get back here. I'll see you all again someday." I whispered, closing my eyes and feeling sleep's claws sink into my mind.

It was strange waking up, since in the afterlife souls didn't sleep. Death would because she constantly had to travel between worlds for more prominent figures, but the majority of the time she'd send her staff for retrieval of the soul.

I sort of rolled out of bed, my body feeling once again like it was asleep. The contrast between warm blankets and the cold outside made goosebumps erupt over my skin, something else I had forgotten about.

After struggling to get dressed correctly and make it all the way to the dining room, sitting down and smelling the delicious food made my mouth water. In the afterlife you didn't need to eat, but there was food in case you wanted to for the hell of it. There was no grand taste, however, as souls didn't have a strong sense of taste.

It was difficult remembering how to hold a fork and knife properly, but once I sort of figured it out I ate and ate and ate like it was my last meal on death row. Every bite was so savory and flavorful, fluffy pancakes and greasy bacon, biscuits drowned in gravy and the fulfilling feeling of a full stomach.

I was so glad I was alive.

...

Both crews came along with me to the castle- we broke in, of course, with a little help from my fiancé- and they acted as my escorts to the main hall. They were busy, too, guarding me from all the palace guards attacking like a swarm of flies. There was a meeting being held, discussing who should become the next ruler of Reiz among the world's dignitaries (and an imposter assassination group), so it was only natural there would be a hell of a lot more guards defending the place. And of course, just as the debate was starting to get heated, I made my grand entrance by kicking open the door.

"It's the Pirate King!"

"What is she doing here!?"

"She's going to kill us!"

"People, people, please! I'm not a savage who crashes political gatherings to take out those corrupted and only here hoping to assassinate the queen and take power for themselves, heavens no! I'm here to claim my rightful position as heiress to the kingdom!"

Gasps went around the room, and I swear to god three people fainted.

"You despicable woman! How dare you break into my castle and claim the position as yours! What gives you the right!?"

I pulled the string to my eyepatch, letting it fall to the floor and the unmistakable trademark of the royal family, blinding green eyes, showing itself. Yes, you guessed it, I'm the queen's daughter! Only one of my eyes was green, however, but nonetheless it was a green eye and proof of my lineage, therefore proof of my biological right to the throne. And, you also guessed it, the Moldarian prince was betrothed to the first daughter of the queen upon his birth, and since she had no other children, I was the lucky one!

If you can call it lucky…

"Captain…" Jacob breathed, "You're the oldest daughter of Reiz?"

"Yes, my dear step-brother! I am biologically heiress to the throne, as I am the eldest of us."

"But… How are we-?"

"How are we related? Well here's the funny part, we're not! You see your father was a very troubled man, looking for an heir when his wife had yet another miscarriage after she'd borne me, so he turned to a mistress and voila! You were born, my precious Jacob! But the king had fallen in love with his mistress and stayed with her for years after, eventually bearing another child, my sweet and precious Thomas. So we are related not by blood, but by marriage!"

Oh, the place was in an uproar! The Queen herself stood up and slapped me right across the face, screeching how dare I show my face again, I was banned from the castle years ago and I had absolutely no right to the throne as I was the equivalent of dirt beneath her feet- oh it was glorious.

Amidst the uproar and the queen screaming like a madwoman I turned to my crews, my brilliant green eye shining brightly as I placed a big smile on my face.

"Well, men, now you know. Now it's my job to rule a country, so my pirating days are over. I'll be getting married once all the political unrest is dealt with, so as a last goodbye I'd like to invite y'all to my wedding! I'll send invitations through Dantalion."

"Oh my god." Morgan said, facepalming and laughing. "You truly are a natural born pirate."

I smiled and said, "So Morgan, you can have your Pirate King title back, and Benny, I trust you with my men. Take are of Bonnibelle for me, alright?"

They all nodded, and with a two fingered salute I sent them off.

Now it was time to deal with a brand new shitstorm.

All it took was a clap of my hands to get everyone to shut up, and I had all attention turned towards me.

"So, Mother, as rightful heiress to the throne I believe this meeting is adjourned. Have you organized any entertainment for our guests? How about dinner?"

"You wretched woman!" The Queen screeched. "You have no right to the throne! You are a filthy child! Your father doesn't even know you exist!"

"Yes, I know. And with him dead there is no way for him to know, or for me to become a legitimate child. But without a king, now you have no one who can help you bear another. How old are you now, Mother? Fifty years at least? All those miscarriages, but here I am! It must be fate! I was meant to rule this country!"

"You were meant to die in my womb! You were a mistake!"

"Oh and how lovely mistakes can be! Can't you see, Mother, all these scars I have? Not too befitting of a princess, sure, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. What I'm saying is, I am the rightful heiress to the throne of Reiz, and not everyone in this room combined is strong enough to make me leave. I dare you, Mother, call your guards. Call your knights. Call upon the entire kingdom- I am strong enough to defeat them all." I placed my hands on my hips and met my mother's eyes, my back straight and the intent of threat in my eyes. "I will protect this country with all my strength. I can attest- I have completely reformed the relationships and laws surrounding pirate and naval interaction with no means of force. I have fought wars and brought peace. I have brought power among the people as the leader of revolutions, social movements, and informational campaigns. It is your choice, right here and now, if I will use my power for or against this country."

And there you have it- by sheer intimidation I basically forced my mother to put me in power, and by using my name and a few connections I stripped my mother of everything and ruled her country correctly. She damn near killed me for it, but as an old woman she soon became bedridden and wasn't able to do much else but spew threats at me when I came to tell her all the good I was doing for her country.

It was extremely difficult to get the economy back up, but as I began to create the structure of a 'middle class' things started picking up. I renewed all trading routes and personally solved all conflicts with other countries, only to then turn the country to isolationism so it could begin repair of itself. Trade from other countries made the economy soar, and soon instead of impoverished children at every corner, you would see them with shoes, a smile, and a full belly. Strict laws made the crime rate drop significantly, and a more institutionalized jailing system made criminals stay where they were supposed to. A new judicial system re-evaluated cases ruled unfair and freed many innocents, as well as placed more solid punishments on those who had bribed their way to a lighter sentence.

I'm not saying I made the country perfect. No, there was still crime and poverty and similar things, but I made it so it wasn't literally tearing the country apart. I made it so not everyone had to be a criminal to survive. I made it so children and their parents could live in houses and have dinner most nights.

I made people happy.

I, however, when not putting on my royal smile was extremely bitter. Princess training was one of the most exhausting things I had ever done. Studying, dining etiquette, meetings, ballroom dancing practice, learning instruments, learning to paint, learning to sew, reading and reading and reading some more official documents that couldn't have been worded more complexly, and the never ending traveling. The worst part was I had to put up a goddamn fight just to walk on my own. Ride in the carriage, Princess. Let your knights do that, Princess. Just sit and look fucking pretty, Princess.

The only good thing to come out of it, other than some new skills, was training with the best of the best in the Royal Guard. These were the people who were hired to protect the entire royal family, and my personal guards had been the previous queen's until I took over. They were some pretty tough guys, which meant it was now my job to become even stronger than them.

Caiden and I didn't spend much time together, but in one year we had almost an entire month of time to ourselves. As usual we would sit together in his study, him at his desk and me on a loveseat, books piled around us having been or waiting to be read. We would talk about our adventures and the places we traveled to, debate the best course of action for several issues, and talk about what we would do once the countries were united.

There were times I was in Caiden's castle alone, when he was out, but I preferred being in the Moldarian castle much more than the one in Reiz. Everyone was very distrusting of me in Reiz because of the Queen and the rumors she spread, but in Moldor everyone was so kind and always smiling. It was the kind of place I hoped for Reiz to become, one day.

So, as I was nearing age twenty-eight, I was covered in powder, had my hair pulled up, was put in an obnoxiously big white dress, and was told to wear the most hideous and uncomfortable pair of shoes I had encountered in my life. But, as I looked at myself in the mirror, my scars completely hidden and lips stained red, I couldn't help but feel kind of pretty.

Boring music, stuffy people, but damn was the place gorgeous. It was decorated with white roses, and the stained glass was so pretty in the sun it almost made me want to get married just to say I got married in such a beautiful place.

Of course the Sirius crew didn't show up, but happiness filled my heart as I saw Benjamin, Ian, Mike, Jacob, and Tyler all sitting in the back. Jacob leaned over and whispered to a man sitting beside him, who I assumed was the newest member, and as I made my way down the aisle I made sure to smile and wave at them.

Prince Caiden's face made everything absolutely worth it. Never had I seen him blush before, but as I walked down the aisle and he lifted my veil he was absolutely speechless. He looked pretty good himself in his princely suit made from white fabric, gold lining and accents making him shine.

"You know, Annabelle, for a second I considered actually marrying you." He said as I took his arm and faced the priest.

"I know I'm pretty hot, but don't get ahead of yourself." I replied as the priest then began reading passionately from the bible, his voice filling the cathedral as time droned on and on.

"You look bored." Caiden whispered to me several moments later.

"I am."

He laughed and said, "It sure is taking a while, huh?"

"Yeah, we'll already be married by the time-"

The door flew open and I heard hardy laughter coming from the entrance, the silhouette of a familiar man bellowing, "We're here to steal the princess!"

A wave of gasps went through the crowd as the guards yelled and ran to attack, but in the midst of the chaos there was a thud behind me and I was scooped up, carried in the arms of a familiar man.

Caiden smiled and gave me a two fingered salute, the signal we had discussed several days before. A wide smile covered my face and I exclaimed, "Oh no! I'm being kidnapped by pirates! What ever shall I do?"

"I'd recommend holding on." The man carrying me said, chuckling.

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, and as he took off I yelled to the Bonnibelle crew, "Come on men! Let's get outta here!"

They smiled and jumped over the row of seats, following the others out as they ran and ran, fighting off any guards standing in their way. As the doors to the cathedral closed, it made my heart leap as I saw Prince Caiden laughing and waving me off.

"My bride got stolen!" he exclaimed jokingly.

I laughed once more and threw my bouquet in the air, the veil flowing in the wind behind me as we ran all the way to wherever the wind took us.

We ended up in a small clearing in the forest where I was set down, an as soon as my feet touched the ground I kicked off my shoes and ditched the bulky thing used to make my dress poof out.

"Well Your Highness, you're certainly not very shocked after being kidnapped by pirates."

I turned and put my hands up to my face, saying, "Oh no, please pirates, let me go! My fiancé will definitely not let you get away with this!"

"Capt- I mean, Your Majesty!"

"Benny!" I yelled, opening my arms to hug him.

He scooped me up in his arms and spun me around, setting me down and hugging me one more time before letting everyone else as well.

Ian, Jacob, and Tyler basically tackled me with their hugs, and Mike had just given me a regular hug like it was an everyday thing. The new man, though, shook my hand introduced himself.

"The name's Abelard. So you're the infamous Captain Jones?"

"Yessir. Nice to meet you as well."

"Anna, why didn't you tell us you planned to get taken away?" Jacob asked, his breathing heavy.

"I didn't. I simply invited everyone to the wedding. I just figured if they showed up, they wouldn't let me get married." I slapped Nathan's shoulder and said, "Good on ya, mate, for giving em a show."

"Your prince sure didn't try and defend you." Eduardo said, looking back in the direction of the cathedral.

"Of course not. I told him to expect an interruption or something."

"Or something?"

"You think I'd count on you losers to save me? Oh hell no. I had a little plan of my own. Caiden completely understood because in all honesty, even if we did get married, nothing would really change. We'd just sit in the study together and read, sip tea, maybe debate some stuff. There's absolutely no romance between us, even though we both agreed we're really hot."

Morgan let out his bellowing laughter and said, "I've said this before, Anna, but you truly are a natural born pirate!"

I gave him a little curtsey in my dress, smiling as I did so. "Thanks, Captain, But flattery won't save you! I'll be taking my title back before tonight!"

"Oh? You're confident in yourself. You haven't had any kind of physical stimulation since you've been a princess, I guarantee it!"

"Oh please! I trained with the Royal Guard on my time off! They're fucking hardcore! And do you know how difficult it is to hold your arm straight for three hours every day for dancing practice? Princesses are fucking badasses!" I turned and said, "Also, Benjamin, I'll be taking my position as Captain back as well. If you want to fight we can fight, I wouldn't mind beating the shit out of you like old times."

Benjamin laughed and said, "Oh yeah? I want to see what you're made of, Your Majesty."

"Benny, babe, listen. You'll be calling me Captain before morning, so drop the 'Your Majesty'. It's not worth getting used to."

"Obviously you haven't lost your bite, Princess."

"I've been saving it for a year. I'm gonna be a huge bitch for a long time."

Everyone laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh along with them.

Within the next three hours, still in the damned dress and with no shoes on, I got my titles back. Benny and Morgan sat exasperated beside each other, both fighting their hardest against me at the same time. I figured it would have been easier to kill two birds with one stone, after all.

There was still one more bird to kill, though.

The men held a party in the evening, which I used to my advantage. I wanted to fuckin dance, and all my ballroom dancing training, the huge shitstorm it was, wasn't going to go to waste. And who did I decide to torture?

The drunk Eduardo, of course!

He stumbled and fumbled and stepped on my feet, but I just smiled and pulled him along. All the boys took their turn dancing with me, gliding (read: fumbling) across the deck and spinning me around best they could, their drunken smiles extracted from pure joy as the night went on. It wasn't until everyone dropped dead drunk I had any kind alone time with Nathan. He'd gotten my drift earlier and hadn't drank himself silly like everyone else. After transporting the men to their rooms, Nathan and I had the deck to ourselves.

His arms snaked around my waist and I put mine around his neck, the both of slowly dancing to my humming as I rested my head on his chest. It was peaceful; candlelight and the crashing of waves, the gentle rocking of the ship and the sound of his heart beating. Everything was calm.

"Nathan?"

"Hmm?"

I looked up at him, meeting his eyes with both of mine. "What would you do if I got married?"

"I'd be happy."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because I'm gonna be the one marrying you."

I laughed. "I'm not asking about the future. I was talking about today."

"I know. I already stole you away, though, so there's nothing I'd do differently."

"Nathan?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to kiss me."

He smiled. "Okay."

He leaned in and I pulled him to me, my hands lightly tugging on the slight bit of hair poking out from under his bandana.

I pushed him away and said, "Gross. You taste like alcohol."

"Sorry. I got bored and drank a little bit."

"Welcome to my world. Except I can't drink."

"You know, Anna, you don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm capable of protecting you."

"Sorry babe, but I'm the dominant one in this relationship. I'll be doing the protecting."

"Oh really? You think so?" Nathan asked, his hands tracing the sides of my body.

"I know so." I replied, tracing his jaw with my fingertip and pulling him in for another kiss.

He picked me up and spun me around, my dress swishing in the air as we pressed our foreheads together and laughed.

At breakfast the next morning, I turned to the newest crew member, seeming a bit extracted from the conversation and drawn to himself. As I looked him over I assumed he had been some kind of thief prior to being a pirate, with a scar right over the bridge of his nose. He was a tall, thin man, with the muscular build of someone who could run very fast for a very long time. His hair was dark and long, pulled back in a ponytail as the bottom half reached his shoulders.

"So, Abelard's your name right?" I asked, calling him out.

"Yes ma'am."

I put my feet up on the table, stretching a bit. "How long have you been on Bonnibelle, mate?"

"Maybe... Eight months?"

"Oh, how've those eight months been?"

"I've... Learned a lot."

I laughed. "That you tend to do. What's your job?"

"I'm just a deckhand."

"Oh, a deckhand for eight months? Aren't you bored mate?"

"No ma'am."

My left brow shot up. The faces of my crew told me they didn't know him well either, even after eight months.

"Why is this man on my ship?" I asked bluntly, looking at the other members.

They were quiet.

I sighed and brought my feet to the floor. "Is someone gonna tell me why they picked him to join, or am I just gonna have to fight him?"

"Abelard, would you mind telling Captain how you met us?" Jacob asked.

He nodded and turned to me.

{...}

It was the fastest I had ever run in my life, but the guards were still after me. I dashed through crowds, scaled buildings, ran over rooftops and did everything I could to lose them, but not for a second did I gain any distance.

I was looking back to see how close the guards were when I hit something, falling to the floor as my own force threw me back.

"Whoa, buddy, you're in a hurry." A slightly intimidating man said, a gap between his front teeth.

Before I could apologize the guards had caught up, running to me with swords raised.

The intimidating man stood in front of me, shielding me from the guards. "We'll take care of these guys, then I'll look at your arm."

I turned my head and saw a large gash just beneath my shoulder. It must have happened in the scuffle when I first tried to escape.

There were five men around, all taking out the swarm of guards like they were no more than flies. It was amazing, such big men moving so fluidly, smaller men holding such strength. They were almost superhuman.

After approximately two minutes the guards were either unconscious or had taken their chance to flee. The intimidating man, who hadn't even broken a sweat, held his hand out to me.

"C'mon, let's go patch up your arm."

The group led me to a ship, an orange haired man striking up a conversation about how relentless the guards were. "I swear I hit this one guy in the neck three times, but he just kept getting up!" He laughed.

In the infirmary the intimidating man disinfected and patched up my wound, tying it with clean bandages from one of the many shelves.

"So, mate, what's your name?" He asked, wrapping the bandage around my wound.

"Abelard," I replied hesitantly, "Abelard Koy."

"I'm Michael, call me Mike." The man said.

"Nice to meet you…" I said, looking at his face as he tied the bandage. "Is your captain okay with you treating me?"

He laughed. "I am the captain."

My brows shot up, surprise apparent on my face. "But, aren't you a doctor?"

He laughed again. "Yeah, but our previous captain has a funny way of doing things. So I'm in charge in their place."

"So your position is temporary?"

He looked towards the door and opened his mouth to speak, pausing a second before continuing. "I guess you can say that." He turned his eyes back to me and asked, "Our chef should be done with dinner about now. Would you like to stay with us, since those guards are probably still looking for you?"

"Oh, no, I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"With your arm like it is, mate, you won't last long against them." He said, resting his hand on my shoulder. "At least let yourself rest up a bit and fill your stomach."

His big hand was warm and comforting on my shoulder, his genuine concern filtering through his words.

"Okay."

At dinner, after a bit of talk and delicious food, Mike offered for me to join the crew. I was hesitant at first, but after thinking about it for a couple of minutes there wasn't really anything for me on land. So, I decided to join.

{...}

I waited for him to continue, my arms crossed tight over my chest, but as silence settled in the room my brows drew in tight. My fist slammed on the table, anger dripping in my tone as I exclaimed, "What the hell? Mike, nowhere in that story did I see any explanation or reason for him to be here! And you, Benjamin, what the fuck were you doing these last eight months letting him stay?" I threw my arm out to the side and exclaimed, "The bastard couldn't even fight for himself! I refuse to be responsible for-!"

Ian grabbed my hand gently, lowering it to my side. "He's fast, Captain."

"He's fast?" I repeated, unamused.

Ian nodded.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose with my free hand. "Benjamin, explain."

"I think it'd be easier for you to just try him out yourself, Cap'n." Benjamin replied, crossing his arms.

I sighed once more, turning to face the deckhand. "You, come here."

He stood up and stopped about a foot and a half in front of me.

"Hit me."

His shoulders flinched and he said, "W-what?"

I crossed my arms once more, standing with my back straight. "You heard me, boy. Hit me, right on my cheek. Go on, don't hold back."

"Ma'am, I don't-"

"Just hit me damnit!"

His fist flew right past my face, his knuckle brushing my cheek. My body almost reacted too late, something I needed to work on. My arm moved to grab his, but his body had already begun to turn and his other fist sped towards me. The hand I moved then changed direction, slamming itself down onto his exposed ribcage and sending him to the floor.

"…What… just happened?" Jacob asked, brushing his hair back with his hand.

"It's as you said, Ian, he is fast." I said, cracking my knuckles. I turned to Abelard, looking down at him as he got up. "But you're sloppy. That turn left your ribs completely exposed, and I was able to bring you down." I crossed my arms once more, closing my eyes and sighing. "It's an easy fix, mate, but you've got to be willing to fight."

Abelard stood up, and I opened my eyes to look at him. I placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling gently and saying, "We'll work on it. For right now, I think I just need to get to know you a little better."


	21. Chapter 21

I sat with Abelard in the dining room, reading over some official documents mailed to me by Caiden. He reported the democratic system I had established was operating on the framework I had set, but the country was uneasy due to the absence of any kind of monarch. The queen had died about a month before I left, which is why the wedding date had been pushed up. If I had more time I would have paved a little more groundwork for the democratic system, but I outed all the corrupt bastards in the council and hired more noble and generous people. The country and its political state should remain stable, but if the system somehow collapsed I had plenty of ways to rule over it again.

"Say, Abelard?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"I know you were a thief before joining the crew, but why? Were you born into it, sold? Maybe raised by thieves?"

He laughed uncomfortably, his shoulders slumping and making him appear smaller. "I, um… My parents kicked me out, so I had to become a thief to survive."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… I've been on the streets about eight years- since I was fifteen. But then Mike gave me a chance."

I looked at his face, his smile making something tick. This kid was hiding something. I put the documents down and sat beside him, making him become even jumpier than he already was around me. He was like it around the other men too, especially when they were roughhousing. It's not that he didn't like being touched, but he was a bit more sensitive and gentle.

He was definitely hiding something.

"So, why'd you get kicked out?"

He laughed again, his body becoming even smaller. "My parents and I had a fight, and they told me I was no longer accepted as… a child of theirs."

I had it. I knew what they were hiding.

"You know, I went through the same thing. It's not because I'm gay, but because I'm an illegitimate child."

"Captain, you… you're gay?"

"Well technically I'm pan, but I like girls more than I like anyone else so, yeah. Hasn't my crew told you about my wife?"

"You have a wife?" Abelard asked, his eyes shining.

"She was my fiancée and we never actually got married, but before she died she pretty much was my wife. Oh, she was amazing. I loved her more than anything in the whole world."

"You loved her? Why did you stop?"

"Even in death I loved her, but I met someone new who I love very much. He's kind of quiet and a little bit of a hothead, but he loves me about as much as I love him."

"Are you guys going to get married?"

I laughed softly. "Maybe one day, but we're still figuring out our relationship. A lot of shit's happened, so we haven't really had the chance to sit and talk about the future. It's hard because he's on a different ship."

"Is it the bandana guy?"

"Yes, his name is Nathan."

Abelard smiled, hugging his knees. "When he looked at you I thought to myself, 'I want someone to look at me like that one day.'"

"You're a sweet person, Abelard. I know you'll find someone who looks at you with so much love it'll make your heart melt."

"Captain…?"

I traced Abelard's jaw with my fingertip and said, "You are very pretty… You have such beautiful eyes and a vibrant smile. I'm sure men, women, and people all over the gender spectrum will fall for you."

"You know about the gender spectrum…?"

"Yes. You see, I'm not a cis woman. I'm actually a demigirl, so I just have everyone refer to me as 'she'. It works." I stood up and said, "I'm sorry for misgendering you. Also, please tell those idiots if you don't like them touching you. They won't know unless you tell them." Before exiting, I turned to her and said, "If you're not comfortable coming out to them it's okay, but I've taught them to respect personal boundaries. Ask Tyler about it, he knows. Nobody should ever do anything to another person without consent, and they know. I'm sure of it."

"Captain…"

"Just because you weren't born a girl doesn't make you any less of one. Please, before I leave, what's your name?"

"My name is Laila."

"Nice to meet you, Laila."

"Nice to meet you too, Captain."

We both smiled, and I exited the dining room.

I wandered over to the Sirius ship, recalling my conversation with Laila and wanting to talk seriously with Nathan. No plans, no secrets. Just us, and our future.

"Nathan?" I called, knocking on the kitchen door. There was no answer so I poked my head in hesitantly, but as I had suspected it was empty. It wasn't anywhere near lunchtime anyway, and breakfast had just ended.

"Do any of you guys know where Nathan is? I have to talk to him." I called to the men on the deck.

"If I'm not mistaken he went to his room. Check there." Christopher said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked at me.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed, turning and heading to the bedrooms.

I knocked on Nathan's bedroom door, calling his name as I had done when I knocked on the kitchen door.

"Anna? Come in." I heard him say.

I opened the door and closed it behind me, scanning Nathan's room quickly before smiling. "I um… I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Oh, well, come sit." He said, scooting over and patting the space beside him on his bed. I sat down and he turned to me, asking, "What did you want to talk about? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…" I took his and gently and said, "We need to talk about us."

"What about us?"

I cast my gaze to the floor, opening my mouth but not having anything to say. I thought for a second and made the words up as I went along. "I don't know… everything. What are we? How is this going to work while we're on different ships? Can we stay together like this?"

"Anna…"

"I thought it was important… It's something we need to talk about, instead of acting like everything is okay since I'm a pirate captain again. I decided to talk with you, no secrets or plans hidden."

Nathan rubbed the top of my hand with his thumb. "Well… is there anything else you have to do that might put your life in danger, or make you give up being a pirate?"

"I mean I have plenty of enemies so there are going to be a few more wars, but I don't think any of them will affect me as much as Leywei did. My battle with him was taxing because of how much weight it carried with the past. No one else is tied to the weight of the past, at least for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Eventually, I'm going to go head to head with the Red Tears since the leader has it out for Tyler. His battle with them will be taxing for him because of his old lover. They may go toe to toe in a fight for life or death."

"What else?"

"The rest is mostly small scale battles with other pirate ships and asserting my dominance, no major wars."

Nathan turned and rested against his headboard, pulling my arm and inviting me to cuddle with him. I took him up on the offer, lying beside him and resting my head on his chest while his hand rested on my hip.

"And there's nothing that'll possibly make you give up being a pirate?"

"No, not after making Reiz a democratic country and becoming allies with Caiden."

Nathan breathed deeply, causing my head to rise and fall before he spoke. "So, what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"About us."

I fiddled with the folds of his shirt, then rested my hand on his stomach. "Well, of course I want to stay together, but the Bonnibelle and the Sirius are two different ships. They can't sail together forever."

"You're right. You and Morgan have different plans for your crews."

"But once I leave with my crew, the only way we'll be able to contact each other is through Dantalion. I'm afraid constantly traveling back and forth will be too much for her, though. She's a very social bird, and I'm sure she's driving everyone on the Bonnibelle crazy right now. These past couple of years have been hard on her."

"So without Dantalion, we won't really have any way of contacting each other."

"Right."

"So… What do you want to do?"

Once again I started fiddling with the folds of his shirt, and he absentmindedly fiddled with my belt loop. "I don't want to break up."

"Alright, there's a start. So we are together, right?"

"I think so. Unless you don't want to be." I said, looking up at him.

"No, I want to be with you. So now since that's been established, how do we make it work?"

I traced the lines of his collar all the way down to his shirt, circling the first button with my fingertip. It came undone, somehow, and my hand retracted. "Oops.

Nathan laughed, his chest rising up as he threw his head back.

I laughed too, shifting so I could look at his face. My legs were still to the side of him, his finger wrapped in my belt loop as I rested on his chest. Originally I rested my elbows on him, but I figured it was painful, so I crossed my arms and rested my chin on my hands.

We stared at each other for several seconds, not really knowing what to say but having a mutual understanding of what we wanted. I'd been thinking about our predicament on my own and came up with an idea several days before, but I was sure I'd face a lot of resistance from both crews and from Nathan himself. There wasn't much else we could think to do, so I decided to just put it out there.

"Do you think… maybe I could leave the Bonnibelle?"

Nathan's eyes widened and he sat up slightly, making me shift so I sat on my knees. "Are you serious?"

"Think about it, Nathan. This is what I've been preparing those boys for. Their final test as a crew was finding a new member and making them feel welcome. They're a bit rusty, but the new mate didn't leave after eight months. If that doesn't show how they're capable of operating without me, I don't know what will."

"Do you want to leave the Bonnibelle?"

"…Honestly, it will be hard to say goodbye for real, but it's time I let go. I've done everything I needed to do, but when the time comes they will call upon me for the battle with the Red Tears. Or, if things get bad in Moldor and Caiden asks me for help, I'll call upon them. The main reason I'll get involved is to help Tyler receive closure, as I did."

"Anna, is this really what you want?" Nathan asked, cupping my cheek in his hand.

I smiled, placing his hand over his. "Yes."

Nathan and I emerged from his room together, holding hands as we walked towards the deck. Everyone was out looking at something, and the two of us went over to check out whatever had caught everyone's attention.

"What's everyone lookin at?" Nathan asked.

"There's something here, but none of us know what it is. It moves, but it doesn't do much else." Christopher said.

I peeked over Nathan's shoulder and saw something annoyingly familiar, making my expression turn to one of annoyance. "Oh god damn it," I muttered. I turned my head towards the Bonnibelle and yelled, "Jacob!"

The sound of pots falling came from the kitchen and I blushed, realizing I had just interrupted something.

"Oops," I said, laughing. I kissed Nathan lightly on the cheek and said, "You tell them, I have to babysit."

Before anyone could say anything I climbed up a pile of cargo boxes and swung over, catching a glimpse of Jacob trying to sneak out from the back of the kitchen.

"You're not slick, kid!" I exclaimed, letting go of the rope and landing in front of him. Before he could run away I caught his ear, pulling him out to the deck and making him apologize for creating another one of those little moving contraptions that caused me to break my arm a little after he first joined the Bonnibelle. It looked kind of like a bug and made little whirring noises due to the gears moving, and I hand noticed one on the floor and fell down the stairs.

After a thorough lecture, I finally let him off the hook but told him to call everyone on the deck for a meeting. There was something I had to tell everyone.

In less than two minutes the crew stood before me, curious faces as I sat on a cargo box with my legs folded and arms crossed.

"So I've come to a decision, but I will not act upon it without everyone's consent." I said, my eyes closed and head tilted slightly downwards.

"What is it, Captain?" Laila asked.

I took a small breath, then met everyone's eyes. "I want to be with Nathan."

A couple of them laughed as if it wasn't something serious.

"We know, Captain. But you don't need our consent to be in a relationship." Benjamin said.

"No, you don't get it. I want to be with him physically."

Their faces turned pink.

"C-Captain, that's not our decision-" Jacob said, caught between laughter and embarrassment.

It only took me a moment to understand what they misunderstood. "I'm not talking about sex, you idiots!" I yelled, throwing my shoe at Jacob. "I'm talking about staying on the Sirius ship so I can be with him!"

Their faces fell.

"Are you… Are you serious?" Ian asked.

"Yes." I replied, crossing my arms once more. "Nathan and I talked it over, and it's the best option for us as a couple. Besides," I smiled at them and said, "you all don't need me anymore."

"What are you talking about? Of course we need you!" Tyler said, his expression angry. "We just got you back, Captain!"

I shook my head. "You don't need me at all. If this ship can operate well enough to recruit a new member and hold on to them for eight months with no major complaints without me, my job is done. You've learned a lot from me and experienced many things at my hand, but I believe it's time you all moved on from me."

"But this is your ship, Captain! You memories, your history-!" Mike said, trying to reason with me.

"You're correct, Mike. My history and memories are with this ship I purchased many years ago. My wife, her murder, and my new beginning all happened here." I stood from the cargo box and let my hands rest on my hips. "But it's time for me to let go. Of Andy, of the past… It's time to start over."

Laila placed her hand on my shoulder. "Is this what you want, Captain?"

I placed my hand over hers and smiled, then looked at the sad but understanding faces of my crew.

"Yes."

We began packing up my room and moving all my things, which I had agreed to be kept in the storage room until there was adequate space for it. Morgan was surprised I didn't want to be captain of his ship since I was moving, but the first step to moving on would be to learn how to relax.

Normally tearful goodbyes weren't quite my thing, but as I was hugging my old crewmembers and remembering all the time we had spent together, the fights we had, and seeing how much they had grown I couldn't help but cry and tell them how proud I was of them. I couldn't help but want to hug them again and cling tightly to their shirts, saying this definitely wasn't goodbye forever and I would see them again on the water.

Even saying goodbye to Laila mad tears fall from my eyes, despite only even after knowing her for several days. I hugged her tightly, wrapping my arms around her back as he hugged my shoulders, burying her head in the crook on my neck.

I pulled back from her and held her face in my hands, looking fondly at her teary eyes. "You really are beautiful… No matter what anyone ever says to you, please don't forget you are who you are and no one can change you. You are perfect just the way you are, and it doesn't matter if some bigoted asshole tells you you're wrong. There are other people just like you. Please, please remember you are never alone in how you feel, okay?"

I held her hands and turned to my crew. "I'm talking to all of you, did you hear me? I don't care what anyone else says. I love you all just the way you are. I never want any of you to think you aren't worth anything." I wiped my eyes, trying to make my tears go away, but the thought of my crew becoming depressed about something they have no control over broke me. "Never, ever, ever let yourself feel like I did. If you're upset, tell somebody. You all have each other, okay? I need you all to work together. You're a crew, a family. This is your home, a place where you're always welcome no matter what." I wiped my eyes a little more, the tears finally beginning to dissipate. "Remember consent is important and it's never okay to do something to someone without their permission. Remember Tyler doesn't like to be touched or teased, Benny is sensitive to the cold, Ian is anxious around strangers, Jacob never feels comfortable in Moldor when he's alone, Mike doesn't like hurting people, and please, please, please give your new crew member the time and patience they deserve to open up to you."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Laila, smiling with tears in her eyes. "We love you, Annabelle."

I laughed softly, the tears I had finally gotten to stop rushing back. "I love you all, too."

After one last group hug and a lot more tears, I boarded the Sirius crew and stood beside Nathan, waving as the Bonnibelle took off. My crew waved from the deck, tears in their eyes as they got farther and farther away. Something tugged at my heart and I moved to the railing, looking longingly at the ship as everything I had dedicated to my life to was sailing away from me.

All it took was a single gust of wind and I was off, running as fast as I could to the front of the ship, balancing myself on the tip of the bowsprit and yelling as loudly as I possibly could, "You sons of bitches better not drink all the liquor during your full moon party or you're never gonna get back on your feet, you hear me!?"

I could hear their laughter, and just as the ship got out of earshot I heard Benjamin yell, "You're not our captain anymore; you can't tell us what to do!"

I laughed and relaxed my shoulders, my hand grabbing one of the ropes tied to the bowsprit. With steady feet I turned and made my way back to the bow, seeing Nathan standing with a gentle smile and open arms.

As he wrapped me in a gentle embrace I couldn't help but smile. My decision may have been the end of my story as Captain of the Bonnibelle, but it'd be foolish to think even for a second everything was done and over with. In the future lay daring battles, romantic adventures, and a hell of a lot more being stubborn.

But that's another story.

Would you care to join me?


	22. Side Story 1: Behind the Kitchen Door

"But I love you, Captain!"

"Yes, you do, but you love Jacob more. It's okay for you to want me to stay, but it's not okay for you to try and stop me from leaving."

Ian looked up at me with tears in his eyes, more heartbroken than I'd ever seen him before. It was then I heard footsteps nearing the door.

"Goodbye, Ian."

Just as the footsteps were about to pass I threw open the door, grabbing the orange haired boy by his shirt and switching places with him, closing the door behind me and holding it.

"I-Ian!? What's wrong!? Why are you crying!? What did Captain do!?"

I laughed as his bluntness and walked down the hall, but only after flipping Ian's sign from 'enter at any time' to 'cooking - do not disturb'.

{,,,}

When he hadn't answered me I asked again, gently this time, "Ian, what happened? What did Captain say to make you cry?"

Tears continued to fall from his eyes and I sensed he was somewhat scared. I feared Captain had told him something to purposely hurt his feelings or lashed out at him, hurting him emotionally. I took a step towards him, intending to gently hold his shoulder, but he jumped away from me and tripped over his own feet. He landed with a thud on his butt, shock apparent on both of our faces.

Silence settled between us and I took a moment to think, realizing I had to approach the situation carefully. I bent down and balanced on the balls of my feet, meeting Ian at eye level. My voice was gentle and soft as I attempted to coax him into speaking. "Ian, what did Captain say?"

He swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving mine but his body language somewhat defensive. I moved to rest on my knees, my feet folding beneath my legs as I offered a gentle smile. My smile became more genuine as I saw his shoulders relax, but he still held an arm to his chest in a defensive manner.

I folded my hands, looking at the ground as I asked, "Are you scared of me because I kissed you a while ago?"

He flinched, his mouth opening to say something but closing before any noise came out.

"I've been wanting to apologize to you ever since then, but I know you're not comfortable being around me. I really feel terrible, especially since I forced myself on you. Captain has drilled consent into our heads since day one, but I still couldn't control myself and I'm truly sorry. If you want me to leave, please just say so."

Ian's hand hesitantly moved from his chest to his side, his fingers slightly curled as his eyes dropped to the floor. For several seconds he said nothing, and I was about to get up and leave when he spoke up.

"Captain said… I don't love her anymore."

My eyes flicked up and I saw his troubled expression, lips slightly pouting and brows drawn in tightly.

"…Is she right?"

Ian's eyes met mine, his quiet voice breathing, "I don't know."

I wrung my hands together, my eyes darting to the floor once more before returning to meet Ian's gaze. "I know you really like Captain, but I... I really, really love you. I'm sorry I took advantage of you and kissed you without permission, but I just... I'm just so jealous. She's a girl, and you'll probably never like me as much as you like her, but I just-"

At some point I had started crying, and when I noticed it was difficult not to break down and blurt my heart out more than I already had. I clenched my teeth tightly and squeezed my eyes shut, struggling to keep myself together. I felt a soft hand on my cheek, offering comfort as Ian gazed at me with seriousness.

"Calm down."

I laughed a little, wiping my tears and placing my hand over his. "Sorry."

Ian's thumb hesitantly stroked my cheek and he opened his mouth, pausing for a split second before speaking again. "I'm... not mad."

My heart thumped and I stared at him dumbly for a second, then swallowing hard and saying, "Then... Can I do it again?"

Now it was Ian's turn to stare dumbly, but with only slight hesitation his lips pursed and he said, "Sure."

I gave him plenty of time to reject me as I leaned in, but as I got closer and closer his eyes fluttered closed. My lips touched his gently, lingering for several seconds before I pulled away.

We looked at each other for several seconds, Ian still holding my face with his legs on either side of me. I was on my knees before him, wanting to look away from embarrassment but not wanting to ruin the only moment I may ever have with him.

"Was that okay?" I asked.

He nodded.

I swallowed hard, my heart thumping in my chest. For a moment I thought Ian might have been able to hear it, but the instant he looked up at me, cheeks on fire and a defenseless expression, I lost it.

"Can we… do it again? A little longer this time?" I asked, my hand still holding his.

"…Yeah."

Slowly I released his hand and held his face, pulling him closer to me and kissing his lips gently. Ian shifted so he was no longer leaning against the wall, his hands awkwardly attempting to drape themselves around my neck.

I laughed, breaking the kiss, and moved my hands from his face so he could rest his arms around my neck. As I placed my hands on his waist I shifted from sitting on my knees to my butt before returning to kiss him again. He had one hand in my hair as the other pulled me closer, my arms wrapping around his torso just so he was a little bit closer to me.

"Jacob, that hurts. I can't bend my back that much."

I loosened my grip on him and apologized. "Sorry, I just got a little excited."

If I had looked closely I would have seen a small smile on Ian's face before he rested his head on my chest. "Me too."

I loosely wrapped my arms around him and said, "I love you."

"Mmm."

We sat for several moments embracing each other before a ray of sunlight hit my eyes from a crack in the shutters. "Say, Ian, do you need any help making lunch?"

After about an hour the smell of freshly baked bread filled the ships and I began to set the table, Captain walking in with a small smile on her face. Ian emerged moments later with the plates of food and we sat down together, Thomas and Russell entering seconds later. Captain's smile made me laugh and she looked around triumphantly, however Nathan walked in and her expression changed. He walked out after making eye contact with her and she sighed, walking out a moment later.

I felt Ian's hand reach for mine and I smiled at him, assuring him everything would be okay. After all, Captain definitely had a plan. She always did.


	23. Sequel 1

It'd been about three months since I joined the Sirius crew, and frankly, not being captain was boring. I had nothing to do but write and train and flirt with Nathan, and having to share a room kind of pissed me off. I had no study to retreat to or anything, and all of my documents were shoved in one cargo box. It was hell.

One day, when I had nothing better to do, I'd gotten fed up and tore apart a couple of the cargo boxes holding my stuff and made a shelf, storing my things accordingly in a small section of the warehouse Thomas had let me use. I also used the boxes to make some other furniture, such as a desk and somewhat of a wooden chair. After constructing those I felt a bit more content, using an old sheet as a makeshift wall in order to create the illusion of a private space.

As I lived on the Sirius I began to miss many things, such as signs on doors and my floor plan, being in charge of what happened, having the authority to put my feet up on the table, understanding the crew well enough to understand why conflicts happened and how to resolve them, but most of all I missed the relationships I had cultivated with my crew. Those losers were the closest things I had to friends.

It's not that the Sirius crew was unfriendly, but I missed having people around who understood my humor and knew when I was and wasn't joking. I was almost walking on eggshells around the men, tiptoeing around and relearning what I could and couldn't do. My previous three weeks aboard hadn't been about getting to know the crew, but now I was here for good and I didn't have the captain's ability to make them cooperate. If I was being completely honest with myself I felt out of place, but I knew I just needed to take my time and establish a comfortable relationship with everyone.

In my moments of discomfort I resorted to reminiscing, talking to whoever about Benny or Ian or anyone in particular who had been on the Bonnibelle crew, however when my homesickness got really severe I could only curl up in my study and write.

In my times before leaving the Bonnibelle I hadn't felt homesick since I'd always felt as if I'd return one day, but this time I had made the conscious decision to leave my home in order to be with my love. Seeing him every day and lying with him every night was an excellent cure to my loneliness, but I felt restless. Being able to comfortably interact with so few people was asking it's toll on me, and I sometimes wondered if I made the right decision.

At times like this I needed to take a break and do something to relax, be it sparring or writing or something else, and in this particular instance I'd decided to simply take a shower and go to bed early.

The warm water trailed down my body into the drain, not hot enough to create steam but not particularly cold either. For a couple moments I stood and felt the water, not thinking at all, before starting to wash my body and hair, occasionally glancing at myself in the mirror.

Once all the suds had been washed away I turned up the heat, steam forming on the mirror I still vividly remembered smashing. I still had small scars on my hand from the glass, and as I looked over the rest of my body I noticed many, many more. There was a particularly prominent one on my back from the assassination attempt and the operation afterwards, as well as some others lingering from my youth.

I searched for a place on my body without scars, but I failed. Even my feet had scars from a time I walked through a mile-long stretch of brambles barefoot back on Stewart's ship, but the majority of scars I had came from then. There was a mark on the left side of my ribs from a time I had gotten stabbed and nearly died, but Stewart had a capable doctor then who managed to stitch me up and prevent an infection.

After Andy died I didn't bother taking care of myself, much less my body, since I never imagined I'd worry about how it looked. Looking at myself I was reminded of a ragdoll poorly sewn together. Gently I ran my hands over my skin, taking in every scar, bruise, and blemish I saw. I found it somewhat amazing, having so many scars. Each one I could recall a different memory, each one told a story of where I'd been and how far I've come.

After my shower the crew had already collected themselves in the dining room, waiting for me to show up and for Nathan to bring out the food. I sat in my usual spot beside Christopher, and Nathan typically sat across from me.

"Why do you look like that?" Eduardo asked, trying to poke fun at me with harsh words.

I rolled my eyes dramatically, asking, "Like what, Eddy?"

"You've got this gross look on your face. You're smilin' like something happened."

"Well," I replied, "I'm sorry I can't match up to your resting bitch face."

A ring of laughter went around the table and Eduardo huffed, saying, "I don't have resting bitch face, for the last time!"

I leaned over the table, poking the space between his eyebrows and saying, "When this is all scrunched up 24/7, that's resting bitch face." I sat back down and said, "Hell, you even scowl when you're sleeping."

"How the hell would you know that?" He retorted, a slight blush on his cheeks.

Nathan emerged with the food and set it down on the table as I continued, "Do you know how many times I've had to carry your drunk ass to your room? And while we're on the topic, let me repeat some of the shit you've said when you're drunk."

"No! That's okay, you've already made your point." He said, grabbing his cup and attempting to change the topic. "Anyway, we should land in the Ajidan capital port in the next week."

"What are we doing in Ajida?" I asked, biting into a small loaf of bread.

"Its rumored there's some magical items there, including the Ring of Anthris." Morgan replied, digging into his dinner as well.

"That's a major find, if it's even real." I said. "The Ruthenus Sword was supposed to be a magic item, but it's just inscribed with some ancient text so faded it's impossible to transcribe. It's all just hype, really."

"Did you happen to bring it with you?" Christopher asked.

"Of course I did. Tyler was pissed about it too, he wanted it for himself. It's in the cargo hold."

"If you don't mind, could I take a look at it after dinner?"

Some time later I led Christopher down to my crate, and after a bit of digging I found the old sword wrapped in my wedding dress. It was finely crafted, the sheath made from cherrywood and reinforced with iron. The blade itself was crafted steel, and the inscriptions were precise and intricate.

Christopher took it to the infirmary and examined it with his microscope, recreating the lines as best he could on a piece of parchment. "This might take me a bit," he said, "so feel free to go to bed. I'll let you know if I find anything."

I assumed he didn't like me watching him work, so I told him I'd be out on the deck for a bit.

I spent the time stargazing, relishing the clear skies as the season began to change. Fall was about to begin, and the sky would soon become filled with clouds. A slight hum played on my lips, no particular tune as I simply wished to fill the quiet air around me with noise. It was a slow song, a few notes dragged out at my leisure. Some moments later, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Do not be alarmed, Princess. I've come to save you"

…What the hell?

I turned my head to see who had spoken to me, and as my eyes met vibrant violet I let out a scream and jumped back against the railing, my hips hitting it hard as my hands flew to keep me from falling overboard.

"Careful!" the person exclaimed, their hands grabbing on to mine and pulling me from the railing. "You scared me."

I couldn't speak. Such soft hands, the gentle voice, pitch black hair, olive toned skin, and those unmistakable violet eyes; this person looked exactly like…

"Andy?"

"Oh, you know of me, Princess? I don't believe I've introduced myself, how rude of me." The person stepped back, releasing my hands, and bowed to me. "My name is Andrew, Prince of Ajida. I have come to rescue you."

"A…Andrew…? Prince Andrew…?" I repeated, my head spinning as my body swayed with the rocking of the boat.

"Anna!" I heard someone call.

Morgan and Nathan appeared at the bow, Eduardo and Christopher tailing them with weapons ready.

Andrew's expression changed instantaneously from his charming princely smile to one of murderous intent, unsheathing his sword and snarling, "Hello, Sirius pirates. It has taken me a while, but now that I have finally found the princess I do not intend to leave without her."

"Andy…?" I muttered under my breath, his actions confusing me.

"Unfortunately Anna is one of my mates, so I refuse to let you have her." Morgan snarled back, a cocky smile on his face.

"How dare you address the princess so casually, you scum!" The prince yelled, lunging at Morgan just as Thomas and Russell arrived at the scene.

"Anna, are you alright?" Nathan asked, avoiding the prince and grabbing my arms.

I lost my breath and my vision went white for a minute, my consciousness taking several seconds to regain itself and make everything work again. My heart pounded in my ears and a loud ringing bothered the hell out of me, but the clashing of swords and the feeling of arms holding me back was so familiar I almost threw up. Next thing I knew I heard a scream and saw Andy, my precious Andy with a sliced arm, but still they were fighting.

They were fighting for me.

They got hurt because of me.

Andy got hurt because of me.

I grabbed the closest weapon to me, which turned out to be a sickle and chain, and threw myself between the clashing swords, deflecting the pirate's as Andy was able to stop theirs from hitting me.

"How dare you, scum." I snarled, fire burning my core and showing through my eyes. "If you so much as move, I'll kill you."

The pirate stood for several seconds, contemplating what to do before slowly setting down his weapon and putting his hands up. His crew followed suit, their weapons lying on the ground with their hands in the air.

I grabbed Andy's wrist, pulling them behind me as I pointed the sickle sword in the faces of the pirates. "Come on, let's go back to the ship. We'll find Sue and have her-"

I paused a moment, my eyes resting on a strangely familiar face. I realized what I said was wrong.

"No… Not Sue, Christopher. Yeah, Christopher can-"

"Anna, are you alright?"

I looked again at the person I had recognized, who was in fact Christopher.

"I'm… fine? I um…" I turned around to look at Andy- no, Prince Andrew, and blinked several times before realizing I had grabbed his wrist. I released him quickly and said, "Sorry, I just… You…"

"He looks like Andy." Nathan said, crossing his arms and looking away.

My eyes met Prince Andrew's and I felt as if I'd been hit with a ton of bricks, a head splitting migraine once again bringing back the ringing in my ears. I took a step towards him, stretching out my arm but falling flat and collapsing into his arms. I almost couldn't breathe and struggled to move, the exclamations of my name and the feeling of being picked up fading away as everything went dark…

I woke in a fog, the thumping of my heart the only thing I heard for several seconds. The rise and fall of my chest, the sound of waves, the feeling of saliva in my mouth and slight movements of my body flooding back in flashes.

I opened my eyes groggily, blinking slowly several times as I fought to keep them open. The bed below me was hard and I turned on my side, pulling the thin blanket on me closer to my face and bending my legs closer to my body.

"Princess, are you awake?"

My eyes snapped open and I turned quickly, once again meeting dazzling violet and a kind smile.

"Andy… Are you alright? Did Christopher tend your wound?"

"I'm fine, the doctor saw me after bringing you here. What about you, Princess? I was worried when you collapsed."

"I'm fine. I'm just glad you're okay. I heard you scream and something came over me where no matter what I had to protect you."

The prince laughed softly, my heart thumping as he brought his hand up to his face as Andy used to do. "You know, Princess, we have only met today but I feel as if you care greatly for me."

I smiled softly back and looked away, my tone turning low as I said, "Well, Prince Andrew, you look just like my wife."

He was quiet, and when I looked back at him his face was a ghostly pale. "P-Princess, you're… you're married…? To a woman…?"

I laughed softly. "I almost was."

After a fond retelling of my times with Andy and a strained ending tale, as well as a summary of my time aboard the Sirius and Bonnibelle, Prince Andrew didn't say a word. He sat staring blankly, his breaths deep and shallow as if he was sleeping with his eyes open. I moved to shake him but he beat me to it, taking a deep breath and resting his face in his hands.

"Princess, how is it you can love someone so deeply, lose them, and still have the strength to go on?"

I smiled. "Well, when I died I got to talk with her for a long, long time. I realized, despite still loving her as much as I had before, our time was over. I had dedicated my life to her for over twenty years, but it was finally time to move on and find my own reason to live." I turned to him and said, "When you live for someone else, you're never going to get anywhere. If you live for yourself, there's nothing you can't do."

Prince Andrew's eyes looked up from the floor and met mine, the striking violet making me breathless for a brief moment. He stood up from the stool he was sitting in, his and resting on the little side rail of the infirmary bed. His hand brushed my tangled hair from my face and cupped my cheek, his voice softly whispering, "Anna, you have such beautiful eyes…"

I shoved him away from me and hit the wall of the sick bay, my fist clenched tightly over my thumping chest. A cold sweat erupted all over my body, my legs beneath the thin cotton blanket feeling as if they were on fire.

"Princess-?" The prince said, taking a step closer to me.

"Get out!" I yelled, turning my face away and clutching the cotton blanket tightly.

"I didn't mean to-"

"I said get out!"

There was a brief moment of silence before I heard the prince's footsteps move to the door, opening it and closing it behind him. His footsteps faded down the hallway and I threw the blanket on the floor, crouching in a small ball with my face in my hands.

Several minutes of quiet passed, my thoughts running blank until I heard the door open once more. Someone sat down on the stool Prince Andrew had been in moments before, not saying a word as I remained in my ball.

"Have I ever told you how Andy and I met?"

They were still quiet.

* * *

One day, at some point in the very beginning, I remember sitting beside a small bakery. It had cracked paint on the walls and roof tiles occasionally hitting patrons on the head, but the atmosphere and scents of the interior made the outside not matter.

The older pastries would be placed out back for the dogs, but I had made myself at home every night and feasted on just enough to last until the next day. Along the way I had picked up on not leaving a trace, which pissed off a lot of people trying to catch me.

When I went home each night I would kiss my mother hello and put my day's pay in a small safe. The child labor business was demanding, but if I could make it easier on my mother I would do anything.

Mother was an old woman nearing her sixties, and I did everything I could not to burden her. For as long as I could remember she kept me safe, each year making a new eyepatch for me and teaching me everything I needed to know to survive.

By the time I was five I was adept enough to live on my own, and I had noticed the boys I sometimes beat up spending less time trying to fight with me. When I went to find out why, I was directed to the shabby little house next door to mine. It had been abandoned for years, but now someone had moved in.

It was a family of three, an outcast family with a child borne of mixed blood. An Ajidan father with tan skin and a pale mother from Reiz, seeking refuge and safety for their six-year-old daughter in a place full of bitter (and poor) outcasts.

The boys had admired the family from afar, biding into mothers' gossip and occasional glances of the happy family fixing up their new home.

I wasn't satisfied, however, and wanted to face the newbies myself. With no fear I knocked on their newly repaired door and waited with my arms crossed, foot tapping as I heard footsteps behind it.

The door opened and the father answered, looking down and smiling at me. "Hello there. How can I help you?"

"My name is Annabelle and I live next door. I want to say your wife is very pretty and I want to be your friend."

The man laughed and called for his wife, who appeared in the doorway moments later.

She had wavy brown hair pulled into a messy side ponytail and copper brown eyes. There was a small beauty mark on her right cheek, hovering just below her eye. She wasn't very tall, reaching only 5'4, but her plump figure was to die for. "Who's this?" She asked.

"My name is Annabelle and I think you're beautiful."

She laughed and crouched down to meet me at eye level. "My name is Rachel. How old are you, Annabelle?"

"I'm five! I heard you had a daughter who's six."

"We do. Would you like to come in and meet her?"

"Yes!"

Rachel sat me down on a small chair with torn leather and brought in four cups of tea, her husband returning with someone small trailing behind him.

"Andrea, dear, there's someone here who wants to meet you." She said, sitting down herself.

A black haired girl poked her head out from behind her father, vibrant violet eyes matching his. She had his skin tone, too- nearly the spitting image of him, but her aura and way of carrying herself definitely reflected her mother.

I jumped down from the chair and grabbed her hands, pulling them towards me and saying, "Your eyes are amazing. I like your hair too. You and your mom and dad are all pretty."

She blushed and laughed, taking my hands and saying, "You're really pretty too! I like your eyepatch!"

"My mom made it for me! Isn't it cool?"

"It is! I want one!"

"Andrea, do you want to go out and play with Annabelle?" Rachel asked, smiling as her husband sat beside her and held her hand.

"Can I?" She exclaimed, clutching my hands tightly to her chest with stars in her eyes.

It was an instantaneous friendship with no real grounds, but later that night I thought it was already over.

"You can't catch me!" I yelled, jumping down from a tree and taking off into the small area of the woods we were allowed to go.

Andy jumped down and chased after me, both of us laughing all the way as our game of tag went on. Once I had gained some distance I scaled a tree, hiding behind the thick leaves as she searched the ground. I scooted forward a bit to hide more, but the branch I was on snapped, sending me tumbling to the ground.

I didn't land on Andy, but my back landed right on the branch and knocked the wind out of me. For nearly a minute all I could do was wheeze as my head spun and spun, but when I finally regained myself it was too late.

My eyepatch lay torn on a limp branch still intact, Andy's concerned violet eyes looking deeply into mine. I shoved her away harder than I should have, throwing my hand over my eye and fearing what would happen next.

Mother told me many, many, many times before to never ever take off my eyepatch or else something really bad would happen. She never exactly told me what, but damn was I scared.

"Whoa, Annabelle!" Andy exclaimed, sitting on her knees before me and holding my wrists. "Your eyes are different colors! That's so cool!" She clumsily pushed my hair from my face and gazed at my green eye intently, smiling widely as she said, "You have beautiful eyes!"

* * *

"You've seen Andy once before, haven't you? Prince Andrew looks just like her. His hair, eyes, skin, mannerisms, everything… I feel like history is repeating itself. He's doing and saying things Andy did, and just before I sent him out I thought… I thought I had Andy back."

"Anna."

I looked up and met eyes with a furrowed brow.

"Do you love Andy?"

"Of course I love Andy. I'll always love Andy. Never will I not regret the day I lost her. But now I have you, Nathan. Were you not there to witness me literally coming back from the dead, leaving Andy to be with you? Have you forgotten the decision I made to leave my home to be with you?" I shifted to sit on my knees and asked, "I know it seems like Andy is the only one I care about sometimes, but do you have any idea just how fucking much I love you?"

Nathan stood and held my face in his hands, pulling me to his lips as I wrapped my arms behind his neck. My fingers gently tugged at the hair poking out from his bandana as his hands ran down the sides of my body, our lips meeting again and again and conveying feelings we simply couldn't get across with our stubborn words.

I cupped his face, pulling away from him, my thumbs gently stroking his cheeks as his hands held my waist. Several seconds passed where nothing happened, and I looked at him and I said, "Nathan, thank you for loving me."

He gently kissed my palms and replied, "You're welcome."

The next morning I woke from a peaceful sleep, the ship rocking gently and the smell of breakfast floating through the air. I couldn't help but feel funny, however, as I remembered falling asleep in the infirmary. The bed beneath me was not firm and the blankets above me were not made of thin cotton.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, only to realize my eyepatch had been taken off.

My one eye snapped open and looked around hastily, but after several seconds I found it sitting beside a luxurious bed atop a bedside table made from red stained wood. I picked it up and tied it, feeling a bit of relief as I stood up. The floor beneath me was covered with an intricate rug, boasting patterns from either Ajidan or Xesian origin.

I met my eyes in a floor length mirror, most likely imported from Xesia, and I scoffed at the nightgown I had been placed in. It was a faded pink and had long sleeves, the bottom reaching the floor and hiding my feet.

There was a slight knock on the door before it opened, and two well-dressed maids entered.

"Good morning, Princess." One of them said. "Prince Andrew has assigned us to care for you, so please allow us to help you get dressed."

My time in the Moldarian castle came flooding back to me and I smiled, bowing my head and replying, "Yes, of course. I look forward to our time together, ladies."

They dressed me in a corset, tied way too tight, and laced up one of the most exquisite dresses I'd ever laid eyes on. Intricate beading and rare fabrics, patterns and cuts that made the entire dress flow. The two maids, whose names I'd learned were Kayla and Ishma, pulled up my hair. It now stretched to about my mid-back, having grown for a little over two years with no incident. They pulled it back in an intricate updo with accessories matching the dress, then covering me with powder and pinching my cheeks to make them red.

After placing some heels on my feet they escorted me out to the deck, several servants bowing to me as I passed. I had the courtesy to bow back.

Prince Andrew met me on the deck, taking my hand and twirling me around before bowing and planting a gentle kiss on it.

"May I say, Princess, you look beautiful."

I bowed my head slightly and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Prince Andrew. Though I do not appreciate you kidnapping me."

He laughed and said, "I apologize, Milady. I may have only brought you here under the cover of night, or those pirates would not have let us be."

I smiled and looked at the ship sailing beside us, the sounds of the men in the dining room carrying all the way over to the prince's deck. "As long as you do not try to steal me away, my fair prince, they will not cause you any more harm."

The prince smiled and looked over to a group of crewmates holding instruments. "My Lady, I brought you on my ship for a reason. If I may, I'd like to ask you to sing a song."

I tilted my head to one side in confusion. "A song?"

"Yes. I also ask of you; may I have this dance?"

The crewmates began playing music and my heart dropped, the distinct tuning of the violin and the gentle flow of the flute reminding me of the first time I met Maya.

"Prince Andrew, how did you-?"

He wordlessly took my hands and began leading me in a dance I knew all too well, twirling and humming as if to encourage me to sing.

My words were dry, my head spinning around and around as the prince lead me, spinning me once more before…

* * *

I released Andy's hands and clapped, yelling along with the crowd before grabbing her again and leading her along the patterned cobblestone. She smiled and laughed, spinning along with me as I opened my mouth and sang a song I hadn't heard since Mother was alive.

_There once was a lad who looked to the sky_

_And sang his own song to the clouds_

_'May one day I be free from the darkness I hold_

_And learn to be free as a bird'_

Spin three times, meet another's hand, one two three four, clap and meet again.

_The clouds in the sky would cry for this lad_

_Their tears bringing life to the land_

_Time went on and never did cease_

_Their poor lad still looking above_

Partner one, how do you do, one and two, steps one and two.

_As time did not cease their lad met a girl_

_Who had stars in her eyes and such glee_

_The lad fell in love with those stars in her eyes_

_And the clouds continued to cry_

Clap and a spin, partner three, one two three four, then do it once more.

_The lad grew up and still looked at her_

_Despite her leaving the world_

_His eyes now still looked up at the clouds_

_He'd learned to sing a new song_

Twirl your skirt, curtsey to your partner, dance as you have and mind the cracks of cobblestone.

_'May one day I be free from this darkness I hold_

_And once more be with her'_

Arms raised, the ladies do a twirl, gentlemen tip your hats, meet again and dance a slower pace.

_The lad sang once again to the clouds_

_His eyes crying for them instead_

_The clouds then continued to cry_

_Hearing to him a special song_

Speed up again, one two three four, hands joined with skirts held, waists close and smiling faces.

_'May one day you be free from the darkness you hold_

_And be with me once more_

_Then you will see what it truly means_

_To be as free as a bird'_

Faster yet again, dance independent in practiced steps, one two three four, jump and clap and sing loud.

_The clouds are gone_

_No more reason to cry_

_The lad now cold lay under the sun_

_Musket in hand still warm_

The music faded and I met eyes with a girl, the darkness in her eyes giving me chills. She sat curled in a ball, glaring at those of us dancing through the cloud of legs she shielded herself behind.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked, pulling my attention away from the girl.

I turned my head back to where I saw her, but there was nothing there. "I think we're about to gain a new crew member. Stay here, I'll be right back." I said, kissing her forehead quickly before turning and pushing my way through the crowd.

* * *

I was thrown back to reality when I hit a wall, my eyes taking several seconds to refocus on the ship's wall instead of the mental image I had been paying attention to.

"Princess…"

I placed my hand on the wall and stared for a moment, thinking deeply. My breath became shaky as I realized having Prince Andrew around me was bringing back all kinds of memories I didn't want to remember. Being around him was literally taking me back to those times as if I was still there, as if none of them had ever died. It was a dangerous situation.

"Princess?"

I jumped, flinching away from the hand on my shoulder. I looked at Prince Andrew's worried face, my eyes scanning his features as I felt myself being sucked into his violet eyes.

"I… um…"

My eyes looked behind the prince at the Sirius, something in my heart feeling almost empty. A heavy weight rested on my shoulders as I felt a deep darkness creeping into my soul.

Once again two hands rested on my shoulders, and compassionate violet eyes met mine. "Princess, why are you crying?"

I blinked and felt tears roll down my cheeks, the darkness creeping up seeping into my mind. "Excuse me." I breathed, pushing Prince Andrew away and crossing the board connecting his ship with the Sirius. My hands clutched my dress and held it up as I ran over the board, jumping down onto the deck and opening the dining room doors.

With all astonished eyes on me, them jumping up and crowding around, I couldn't say it until I felt his hands on my shoulders.

"I want to go home."


End file.
